Edge of the Multiverse
by tpk712
Summary: When every fictional universe ever created are interconnected, things don't necessarily end well for everyone. The righteous side of a multiverse-spanning war is losing morale, and it is up to a few lone groups on a desolate planet to find hope where it feels like there is none. Rated M for violence and language, possibly other things later.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is pretty much a crack crossover featuring a bunch of random stuff I like mixed together. People who enjoy Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, DC and Marvel comics, old Cartoon Network shows, Fallout, among other things should find stuff to like here, though I am making an effort to make it accessible to those unfamiliar. Theoretically anything fictional could show up, so who knows what else I'll add. This should just be the beginning, and hopefully it'll turn out to be as batshit insane in writing as it was in my head.**

Edge of the Multiverse

No matter where he was, who he was dealing with, or what he was doing, Bruce Wayne liked to believe he had one rule he could always rely on. No killing. It had steered him true through many years of crime fighting, a foundation for the morality of the Batman. But, as he wiped the dried blood off a sharpened Batarang, he wondered how many times a rule could be broken before it ceased to be rule at all.

Times had changed. Ever since the multiverse collided, everything progressed to such a massive scale it was dizzying for even the most powerful to comprehend. So, when an inevitable war broke out between the forces of evil, the Council as their leaders were called, and the forces of good, known as the Alliance, said war was similarly mind bogglingly huge. Planets, solar systems, entire dimensions were razed to nothingness in the resulting battles, and death counts were higher than ever thought possible before the all-dimension merger. On this planet, designated S-899, fighting had mostly broken up into skirmishes of smaller groups rather than large scale organized warfare.

And so, here was Bruce Wayne, sitting in a dirty little hovel with 5 other people, having just broken his only rule for the umpteenth time in the name of the multiverse maybe, possibly, _hopefully,_ finding peace once more. At least, that was what he told himself.

"Hey Batsy, we getting a move on soon? Those freakies are gonna be on us again if we don't." A voice broke the silence, a voice that, no matter the horrors it witnessed, still managed to keep its flirty and humorous tone. Johnny Bravo patted Bruce on his armored back in an almost apologetic manner, and flashed him a reassuring smile when he turned to look at him. Bruce couldn't help but chuckle warmly.

"As much as I don't want to admit it, you are correct Bravo. Round up the others."

And so, he did. Chiaki Nanami, a girl they found wandering alone days ago, wasn't hard to find, she was busy playing a portable game system that seemed to never lose its charge in the corner of the room.

"Whatcha playing there, little momma?" he asked to grab her attention. She gave him a warm smile as she looked up from her game for a brief second before going back to it.

"It's called Double Dragon II, a beat 'em up game developed by Technos Japan in 1988. The combat is actually fun and fluid for the time it was made and-," she kept rambling on as she played. Describing video games was one of the few means of getting her to speak for anything longer than a sentence at a time.

"Starring Billy and Jimmy Lee, yeah? I met them, when the troops were getting to ready for deployment. Jeez, that feels, like, forever ago doesn't it?" Johnny reminisced once she was done, rubbing the back of his long blonde mane in thought. Chiaki just shrugged as she kept on playing. Clearly, the idea of meeting her video game heroes in real life was a novelty already worn off.

"Well, ya need to get up little momma. Batsy is calling for us to leave soon," Chiaki nodded and stood up, still playing the game while doing so. The two went to find the other group members.

Samus Aran and Spike Spiegel were found by Johnny and Chiaki watching the bounty hunter show 'Big Shot' on a tablet screen a room over.

" _Howdy amigos! All you billions of bounty hunters out there in the universe, how ya'll doin'?_ " an African American man in a cowboy hat spoke enthusiastically as a bouncy banjo tune played in the background.

" _It's time for Big Shots, the show that tells all about fugitives!_ " a similarly Western themed, and scantily clad, woman exclaimed.

" _Shucks howdy! On today's menu is the terrifying Izuru Kamukura! He escaped from Alliance custody on Planet S-899 just the other day. He's a tough nut to crack, maybe the toughest there is, but as a result the bounty is a whopping billion credits, dead or alive!"_ As the man spoke, a mugshot of the bounty in question appeared on the screen. His ridiculously long and dark frayed hair would make him stick out like a sore thumb no matter where he went, and his red eyes were striking, as if they were staring right into the souls of the bounty hunters watching. The two of them didn't seem to mind the sight, but Chiaki, for the first time since they entered the building, completely broke her attention from the screen in her hand and looked to the other one.

" _Oh boy, a billion credits! Just imagine what one could do with all that moolah!"_ the woman waved a fan of dollar bills in front of her face.

" _I know what I'd do! I'd buy a life time supply of Mococoa, the best cocoa arou-"_

Spike shut off the screen as the cowboy began his spiel, and stood up while yawning. "A billion credits eh? Dead or alive too. I could use the money."

"Equal split between all of us, remember?" Samus made a point to remind him. Spike just scoffed.

"Yeah yeah, of course. You still don't trust me Aran? I've worked and split rewards with other bounty hunters before, believe me."

"I admit, I am more used to working alone."

"We're lucky most of the other guys don't care about the money, just don't mention this to-"

"Alive." Spike and Samus turned around at the voice, just noticing the duo behind them for the first time. Spike scratched his puffy hair and gave an apologetic smile in shame at being caught trying to hide the bounty reward.

"Eh heh. What was that you said Chiaki?" Spike asked

"Izuru. Can you please keep him alive when you find him? I'd appreciate it…." She trailed off at the end, but the unusual conviction in her voice was apparent to everyone. Spike hissed through his teeth as he turned away from eye contact with her.

"The guy is supposed to be incredibly dangerous Chiaki. I'd like to promise you, but I simply can't….sorry." Chiaki didn't say anything, she just looked at Spike for an uncomfortable amount of time before walking out of the room to Bruce's spot at a table. Samus gave Spike a disapproving look.

"What? You want me to lie to her and say I'll guarantee he survives? Why does she want him alive anyway?"

Samus just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, you have a point. And you are right, in the end. But you need to remember she is the youngest here. If it wasn't for us she'd probably be, at best, defenseless and, at worst, dead, and I know how it feels to lose everything. All I'm saying is, take it easy on her ok?"

Johnny and Spike shared a look, trying to figure out the history behind Samus' words, before Johnny wordlessly urged Spike to agree. "Yeah, sure Samus. She's a nice girl, and I don't want to be an ass or anything."  
Satisfied, Johnny spoke up. "Alright, Batsy wants us to meet up and then move out. If we don't those freakies will be on us again lickety-split." He zoomed over to Samus' side. "And I'll escort you on over, pretty momma."

Samus just snorted and rolled her eyes. Same old Johnny. "It's a ten foot walk you dunce."

Regardless, she allowed him to escort her over in good humor, a sight that caused Bruce to smirk in amusement. It seemed that everyone was seated at the table, but there was one missing….

"Where's Logan?" The question seemed to surprise everyone.

"Now that you say it, I haven't seen the little guy since we got here," Spike piped up first. Bruce sighed. With his brooding, Chiaki's absentminded video game playing, Spike and Samus' search for more bounties, and Johnny's doing…whatever it is he does while alone, it seemed no one noticed a member of their group was missing the whole time.

"To be fair, that was a confusing little tussle we had. And Logan can handle himself just fine," while Bruce wasn't pleased with the situation, Samus made some good points. Logan's healing factor meant that almost any injury he received would heal quickly, not to mention the claws he held in his knuckles meant for a convenient weapon. However, any worrying would soon not matter.

"You guys looking for me?" and there was James 'Logan' Howlett, otherwise known as the Wolverine, standing at the open-door entrance to the building, his black and yellow colored armored variant costume covered in blood. None of it seemed to be his.

"The hell did you do Logan?" Bruce asked, barely shocked. Unlike him, his fellow costumed hero was seemingly not averse to killing in the least. He respected that on some level, especially in these times, but walking in a room covered in the blood of his enemies felt a little bit too far. Chiaki in particular did not seem happy with the sight.

"Those mutant assholes we were fighting? Don't think you'll need to worry about them anytime soon. I got a little angry, sorry to say," Logan kept his distance from the group as he looked around, taking the bloody armor off. The short, hairy, yet muscular man underneath slowly came to light as he did. "Any showers near here?"

"No, there isn't. But there should be a water source somewhere if we keep on moving," Bruce told him as Logan took off his cowl.

"Yeah I know. We gotta keep going, until we find your boyfriend," Logan replied gruffly, smirking as he did. Bruce's stoic face didn't move a muscle, over the years he knew Logan he became used to such remarks. The other members of the group looked on awkwardly, until Chiaki spoke up.

"Um, your boyfriend Mr. Wayne?" this caused everyone else to burst out laughing as she looked on in confusion.

"Sorry no one told you yet kid. I know you're a newcomer here, but we do have an ultimate objective besides wandering around trying to survive while capturing bounties." Logan answered, half naked and scrubbing blood off the armor with a rag.

"What is it?" she asked. At this, Bruce turned more serious, his armored cowl looking even more hardened than it did before.

"To find my friend, a major source of hope in our Alliance. We have reason to believe he's hidden on this planet, and with every bounty of Council associates collected we get a little closer to learning the truth. If we can free him from his imprisonment, the Alliance has a chance of victory. Our mission is to rescue Clark Kent, to save Superman."

Chiaki knew just who that was and why he was important, everyone did. She blinked. "Oh."

* * *

Apollo Justice was not fine, and he didn't think he ever would be again. He looked with his one good eye at the revolver held in his hand, moved his gaze over to the large golden bracelet on his wrist, before considering the distance. He saw nothing, just endless desert, an almost featureless plain that refused to provide answers to his questions. How did they get in this mess? His stomach growled. When was the last time they ate?

A poke on his shoulder. "Polly?" He turned his head to look his half-sister Trucy Wright in the face. As he did, he realized he didn't have room to complain. Fate had not been kind to her either. Her once neat brown hair was frazzled and unkempt, and the magician outfit that she loved so much was replaced with bland yet useful leather clothes, with only a sun-bleached top hat on her head remaining of the ensemble. Apollo himself wore a similar leather outfit, an old and rusty defense attorney badge on the lapel. His hair miraculously kept the 'horns' he was known for, though a lack a hair gel meant they weren't looking as neat as he liked. Still, that was the least of their problems. He was down an eye, wearing an eyepatch in its place. They were both skinnier than they should be, and covered in dirt and grime.

"What is it Truce?" he realized she was carrying a sack of some sort as he asked.

"I've got some food! I found it in my hat, just another appearing trick from the magical Trucy Wright!" she posed as she finished grandstanding before him. Apollo chuckled, but darkly realized the desperation behind her words. He didn't think anything could ever make her reveal her true feelings completely. Sure, she cried, and complained, and collapsed from exhaustion, but she kept to the magician act throughout it all and tried her hardest not to show weakness in front of him. Apollo wished dearly she would open up more, but that would have to wait. He didn't want to look ungrateful though, it was the only source of light in a dark time.

"Thanks so much, I'm fucking starving!" he immediately reached in, finding some stale bread which he quickly set to eating.

Trucy mocked a gasp. "Polly! You know how I feel about cursing!"

"Sorry!" Apollo looked ashamed for second before he continued devouring the bread. His mouth full, he asked, "Where did you really find this anyway?"

Trucy huffed. "A magician never reveal her secrets!... I found it in some random home in the town we passed the other day. As we just had some delicious roasted lizard, I figured to save it for later."

Apollo rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, delicious. I never knew what Datz saw in eating lizards, and I still don't."

They both shared a sad smile at the thought of someone they once knew, someone they assumed they would never see again. This was a reoccurring theme with the both of them, it seemed to Apollo. _Oh well, no use in focusing too much on the past._ To wash down the food and provide hydration, flasks of water were opened and drank from. To Apollo, they seemed to be getting too low for comfort. Putting on goggles and tying a bandana around his jaw to protect from the billowing sand, he motioned to Trucy.

"We need to keep moving and find some shelter, hopefully water. As usual, stay behind me," in more calm circumstances she would complain the she could take care of herself, but Trucy knew Apollo was much more capable than she in using that gun. She could use it alright, but Apollo was a trained soldier. So, she simply nodded and put on her own goggles and bandana.

The duo moved onward through the desert, rarely taking breaks, and soon it was dusk. There was no shelter or water to be found, and so they resigned to pitch their tent. A hole filled and drafty tent they were loath to use, but it was shelter nonetheless. Once this was done, they both sat inside.

"Polly, you wanna see a magic trick?"

"Always, Truce."

And so Trucy pulled out sticks from her hat, grabbed stones from behind Apollo's ears, and used the few, old cards she had left to ask 'Is this your card?" to any he picked. After every trick, he would laugh and applaud. Trucy remembered her days as a professional magician, performing to roaring crowds of hundreds, sometimes thousands. As she looked on her half-brother's amused and happy expressions, she mused that this was a much more fulfilling audience.

* * *

The next morning, they were both awakened by a roar. They quickly untangled themselves from the huddled together hugging pose they used while sleeping and exited the tent, looking around to find the source. Whatever was roaring, it would not be friendly. Apollo's gaze fell on a rapidly approaching form.

"Fuck."

It was a deathclaw, a giant 10-foot tall beast that wandered the desert, slaughtering all it came across. Its horned form looked like a demon sent straight from hell, and its predatory gaze was looking right at him.

"Trucy. Get back."

"Polly-"

"Get back. Now." Realizing this was not the time for argument, she did what she was told.

Apollo unholstered the revolver, and made sure it was loaded. It wouldn't do much, but maybe, just maybe, he had a chance. He raised the gun, aimed, his good eye focusing intensly on the target, and fired. The shot rang through the desert, hitting the deathclaw straight in the eye. It flinched and paused its approach, roaring in pain.

Apollo looked at Trucy.

"Run."

They both did, as fast as they possibly could. Lack of nourishment would catch up to them later, but pure adrenaline was running through their veins in the moment. The monster quickly recovered, and was faster than its appearance belied. _So, this is how I die,_ Apollo thought to himself as he felt the beast gaining on them. _Hopefully my corpse is chewy enough to give Trucy time to escape…_

Apollo's borderline suicidal thoughts were cut short, though, as he heard another, different rumbling sound from behind, and soon after this the creature let out another roar of pain to add to the cacophony. Trucy and Apollo skidded to a stop and dared to look behind them, seeing the deathclaw clutching its head between its talons while it blazed on fire.

 _On fire? What the hell…_

"Quick, get in!" The sight of the deathclaw on fire was so strange that he completely missed the sight of the van just feet away from it, a woman calling for them through the open back doors. Was that the source of the fire? This was no time for such questions, he knew. He felt a pull on his wrists, only to see it was Trucy leading him towards the van. Clearly, she came to her senses before he did. They were pulled into the back of the van, the doors closing behind them, and it quickly sped away from the burning deathclaw, much faster than Apollo expected a van to move. He leaned back on the closed doors panting heavily and sweating bullets, sliding his body against it until his rear hit the ground.

"Are you two alright?" it was the woman from before, who he now had a closer look at when she moved over to inspect him. She looked regal, her light blue hair made up in two major curls on either side of her face, and with wings right above them, partially covered by a headdress. It was the headdress and her attire in general that convinced Apollo she was regal looking, if they were not dirtied over what he assumed was a while spent on this dusty planet he imagined they would be very ornate and beautiful. He realized he was staring at her when her concerned expression turned confused, so he nodded that he was indeed alright.

Right next to the regal-looking woman was a very short looking creature, which was peeking from behind her right at him and Trucy. Apollo thought creature because the only part of it he could make out were two glowing yellow eyes, the rest was covered in clothes and a pointed hat that all looked a couple sizes too big for it. Sitting down behind this strange duo was an even stranger sight, a raccoon tinkering with some mechanical device and muttering to itself. It didn't seem to pay much attention to the two newcomers. On the other side of the back of the van were two dogs, one a brown German Shepard with black spots, and the other a small pink dog also with black spots which was a breed Apollo could not identify. Both eyed them but said nothing. Sitting in the front seats focusing on driving was a bald woman with a mechanical arm, and a bearded man who seemed to be a police officer.

Apollo took in all this sensory information about the strange group within seconds, and the regal-looking woman smiled sympathetically at his confounded expression.

"I suppose introductions are in order, huh?" she asked. He nodded, calming down as the adrenaline left his system.

"Well, my name is Melia Antiqua. Pleased to meet your acquaintance," she did a little curtsy with her dress, wobbling a bit as the truck hit a rock. "And this here," she said pointing the creature clutching the dress, "is Vivi. He's the one that sent that fire spell at the deathclaw. If there is anyone you should thank for saving your lives, it's him." Vivi just stared at the ground bashfully.

Before Apollo could get his thanks out, Trucy did it better than he ever could. "Thank you so much Vivi! You really saved our butts out there, didn't he Polly?" Apollo could only nod.

Noticing Vivi didn't enjoy the attention, Melia moved on. "This guy behind me is Rocket, he'll warm up to you I promise." The raccoon mumbled something Apollo couldn't make out, clearly not wanting to be disturbed, and Trucy wisely kept quiet.

"Those two," she pointed to the dogs, "are Scooby Doo and Courage. Scooby is the owner of this van, and Courage is a good friend of his." Scooby walked up to them with Courage on his back, both holding out a paw.

"Rice to reet you!" Apollo was dumbfounded, but Trucy took it in stride, shaking both their paws.

"Nice to meet you too! Nice van you got here."  
"Rank you!" Courage wheezed out a laugh at his friend's speaking mannerisms.

"Thank you, if you didn't get that," the smaller dog mock whispered, Scooby growling in response.

Melia giggled and pointed to the two in the front driving. "The one at the wheel is Furiosa, she's a little focused on driving now so she'll say hi later. And next to her is Chief Jim Hopper." The man tilted the brim of his hat in acknowledgment before turning back around whispering to Furiosa about something. "And that's all of us. We saw you guys running and decided you needed help, which is why you are here. Now, may we know your names?"

Trucy grinned. "My name's Trucy Wright, magician extraordinaire! And this right here is my wonderful assistant and half-brother Apollo Justice! Gonna say anything Polly?"

Apollo realized he hadn't said a word the whole time. "Uh, it's nice to meet you all!"

 **I'll explain some stuff about the characters and references for those who don't know.**

 **Batman/Bruce Wayne is someone anyone should know, a DC Comics character. He usually has a rule against killing, which he breaks in this universe. I'm basing him partially on his depiction in the Arkham games, partially on his depiction in the animated series and Justice League Unlimited.**

 **Johnny Bravo is from the titular Cartoon Network show. In the show he always chases women and fails. In this story he has grown up and matured a bit, and is more self aware of how his shenanigans are perceived.**

 **Chiaki Nanami is a character from Danganronpa, the Ultimate Gamer. She is a quiet yet heartfelt character. She mentions Double Dragon 2, which is a game she also references in the Danganronpa 3 anime. Izuru Kamukura is also from Danganronpa, and if you have played the games you know why Chiaki is interested in him.**

 **Billy and Jimmy Lee are the protagonists of Double Dragon. If every fictional world were to become connected, it stands to reason some that are fictional in other fictional worlds would be included. This creates an interesting situation where people meet characters they play in video games or watch in movies.**

 **Samus Aran is from Nintendo's Metroid series. She's a bounty hunter who tends to work alone.**

 **Spike Spiegel and the Big Shots show are both from the anime Cowboy Bebop. Spike is a bounty hunter who is a bit on the laid back and snarky side**

 **The announcers mention Mococoa, which is a brand from the movie the Truman Show.**

 **Logan, aka the Wolverine, is a Marvel Comics characters who everyone should also know. This version is based more on his short and angry comics character than the Hugh Jackman version, but there will be elements of Hugh included.**

 **Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright are both from the Ace Attorney series. The Datz they mention is also from the series, and he does have an animation where he eats lizards.**

 **The deathclaw, as well as the mutants Logan mentions, places the location of the story in the Fallout universe. Why? I like post-apocalyptic locations, that's why!**

 **Melia Antiqua is from the Wii RPG Xenoblade Chronicles.**

 **Vivi is a black mage from another RPG, Final Fantasy 9.**

 **Rocket is otherwise known as Rocket Raccoon, a Marvel Comics characters from the Guardians of the Galaxy. He's based mostly on the movie incarnation.**

 **Scooby Doo is a mystery solving dog from the titular long running series, and the van his group is in is his Mystery Machine.**

 **Courage is from another titularly named Cartoon Network show, a cowardly dog like Scooby.**

 **Furiosa is from the movie Mad Max: Fury Road.**

 **Jim Hopper is from the Netflix series Stranger Things.**

 **As I said, pure crack, but I'm having fun with it. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The depths of the complex were a maze of intertwining halls and rooms that were almost impossible to traverse, but General Grievous knew exactly where he was going. Someone with supposedly important information had just been captured, and Grievous was going to ensure that the interrogation would go over smoothly. _It will,_ he thought to himself as he clutched a tablet in his grasp. The screams he heard from so far away informed him that it had already started. Jack Lint stood to attention when he entered the room, the prisoner slumped over in the interrogation chair panting heavily.

"How goes the proceedings?" Grievous asked, motioning for the torturer to stand down. Lint only shrugged.

"He has yet to say anything, but we're wearing him down." He _whirred_ a drill he was holding for emphasis.

"Leave. I wish to have a word with the prisoner alone." Lint acquiesced and walked out the door. Grievous turned his attention over to the prisoner, who was now looking up at him defiantly. He spat a glob of blood at Grievous' feet.

Said glob had only just hit the ground when Grievous was already on the prisoner, one of his spindly metal hands encircling the throat and squeezing hard. Grievous' reptilian eyes stared coolly into the prisoner's face, his hand crushing the windpipe until the face turned a shade of blue. He let go.

"You think defiance will serve you well, fool? All it does is make our drive to extract what you know from your mangled little body all the stronger. And I promise you, there is no respite from this, not even death," Grievous threatened while the prisoner desperately breathed in air. He switched gears in his tone. "So, your name is… Scott Lang, correct?"

"Yeah… that's my name. I'll give you assholes that." If Grievous had a mouth he would have grinned so hard his mouth hurt.

"Ah, the infamous Ant-Man, threatening name I must say. Regardless, that should be all we need, Mr. Lang." The confusion on his face made the imaginary grin even larger. "You may be asking yourself why that is, correct? And I'll tell you. You have a daughter named Cassie, do you not?"

Scott's face fell harder than a boulder off a mountaintop. Grievous' imaginary grin would have torn his cheeks in half. "No…"

"The answer is yes, Mr. Lang. We have her in our possession. Providing proof should be no trouble at all," at this Grievous took out the tablet and pulled up a picture of Cassie, "and it's easy enough to believe. After all, a father leaving his daughter behind to fight for the 'good guys' leaves her open to whoever would wish to take her."

"I didn't….I wouldn't… they forced me to…"

"They forced you on to a mission, yes. A mission you didn't want to do, but felt you needed to anyway. For the good of the multiverse. And as a result, you left your daughter with your ex-wife who was woefully unprotected."

"No! Maggie, is she…?!" Tears were falling freely over his face.

"Yes, we killed her. She was very protective of her daughter after all. Honestly, it was all a coincidence we even found her, if it wasn't for some of our ranks being blood thirstier than usual we wouldn't have even known she was there. Nevertheless, we transported her here the moment we heard you were captured and now she is in our custody. And if you do not give up any intel I will not just harm you. I will harm her. Understand?"

Scott could barely answer he was crying so hard, but he managed to squeak out a weak 'yes'. Grievous slapped him hard.

"Pull yourself together and tell me what you know."

Scott sniffled and hesitated for a second before beginning. "W-Well, we have reasons to believe you guys have Superman captive on this planet…"

* * *

Bruce could barely believe what he was hearing over the call. "What do you mean Scott was captured?"

" _I mean what I said. Some of Grievous' forces attacked, and in the resulting battle we lost him. We assumed he went small, but if he did he would have definitely turned up by now. If he was dead, his vitals would have gone out. So yeah, he's captured."_ Rita Vrataski, leader of another group searching for Superman's whereabouts, informed him. _"He's loyal though, he shouldn't say anything that'll compromise our plans."_

He sighed and face palmed at the news. Needless to say, this was very bad. "Thank you for informing me Ms. Vrataski. Wayne out." At that he shut off the call and slumped down into the front seat of the Batmobile.

"Everything alright in here?" Bruce looked up to see Samus' vaguely concerned visage peering through the open window.

"Our mission may be compromised."

"Oh." She said nothing else, gave him a final look, and walked away. _Very comforting, Ms. Aran,_ Bruce thought in wry amusement. He called out after her. "We need a meeting to discuss this before you lot leave."

Samus sighed. Bruce and his group meetings, he really enjoyed those. His orders were followed, and she called over all the others to the Batmobile. Bruce informed them all of the predicament, which garnered mixed reactions.

"I've known Lang for years, and he was never one to betray the Avengers. He won't betray us," Logan spoke with conviction. Spike simply didn't seem to care, but Samus, Johnny, and Chiaki approached Bruce after the meeting was finished.

"Ya think we should save old Scotty?" Johnny asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"The good news is that kidnapping him confirms they are worried about our presence on this backwater planet. Our hunch is now more than a hunch. He should be in the same place as Clark is, where we will save him," Bruce assured.

"Do you think Mr. Lang will be ok?" Chiaki followed up.

"I won't sugarcoat it, they will torture him. If we get there quick enough it should be enough to save him, but I don't know what will happen if we or any other group takes too long," Bruce spoke stoically, already accustomed to the idea of friends dying in enemy territory.

Samus heard all she needed to hear, and walked away. Spike met her outside her ship, modified to allow for surface driving, having been clearly waiting for her.

"The nearby town is populated, maybe they'll know something about a certain bounty we're looking for. You ready to move out?" he asked, looking forward to the search and possible monetary reward.

"Yes, Spike. Let me get ready, then we'll leave."

"One more thing. Logan is coming. He insisted."

Samus said nothing, but she did sigh. She entered her ship, putting on more casual clothing, covering her Zero Suit with a leather duster and pants, but kept the activation of her powerful Varia Suit ready in case of an incident. She met Spike outside, where Logan, he too dressed casually, joined them. They left the campsite, and walked towards the nearby town.

...

The place was known as Junktown, and it seemed like an oasis of civilization in a world of decay even if it still left a lot to be desired. The three of them split up to cover more ground, Samus entering a nearby bar. She tried to hide her disgust at the sight of the ghouls with melted flesh as she sat at a bar side stool. The bartender walked over when she waved for him.

"Ya want a drink lady?"

"I'm looking for some information. Have you seen anyone that looks like this around here?" she took out a tablet and pulled up the mugshot of Izuru. The bartender simply shook his head.

"Nah, sorry," he murmured, clearly not intending to say more. Samus slid a credit on the bar. His eyes widened.

"A credit!? Those are worth like a thousand caps!" He reached for it greedily but she pulled it back.

"Only if you tell me what you know."

"…I don't know anything, honest. But, if there is anyone who knows about everyone who passes through this shitheap, it'll be Gizmo, the owner of the local casino. I bet he already knows just who you are. Of course, if you don't want to piss off the shadier characters, I'd ask the mayor Killian Darkwater."

Samus nodded in appreciation and left the credit on bar top, which the bartender quickly snatched up. "Thank you."

Walking outside, she already made her choice. The casino was easy enough to find, the ostentatious lighting on the building stuck out like a sore thumb. It didn't surprise her that Logan was already inside, downing some booze, smoking a cigar, and doing little else. "Find anything?" She snarked as she sat down across from him.

Logan grunted in response, slamming his bottle of Jack on the table. "Fuck off."

"Well, I did. The owner of this very place, named Gizmo, seems to run the town. If anyone knows anything, he will."

Logan grinned. "So, how are we gonna deal with him? The easy way, or the hard way?"

"I'd like for this to be the easy way, and because of that I'm going to meet him alone." Samus' confident face dared Logan to object.

"What? I'm the one who barely flinches under gun fire, if anyone should go alone it's me."

"My Varia Suit can protect me if worse comes to worst. But it shouldn't, if I just ask calmly for the whereabouts of something he probably doesn't care about. You, well, you really like those claws of yours."

Logan balked at this. "Listen, I know you've had years as a bounty hunter, but how many of that was actually dealing with people? Not many, I'd guess. You've only recently started talking like a normal human being. Going to isolated planets and fighting off space pirates is a completely different animal than what we're dealing with. This guy, this Gizmo, he has ownership of this town for a reason. And that reason isn't listening kindly and giving out info to whoever walks through his door."

Samus scoffed. "I'm not an idiot, Logan. I know full well he isn't trustworthy. I'd just like to do this without causing any trouble."

Logan puffed his cigar in thought. "Then why not ask the mayor?"

"Huh? How do you know about him?"

"I didn't sit here wasting my time… well, OK, maybe I intended to, but I've heard rumblings about the tug of war between Gizmo and Darkwater for control. Darkwater seems like the safer option. Why not ask him?"

"Because, Logan," she sighed, "I feel like he won't actually know anything. If anyone were to be aware of a bounty's location, it wouldn't be the mayor fighting corruption."

The cigar smoke circling his head dispersed as he nodded. "Good answer. But I'm going with you, whether you want me to or not. I know what it's like to work alone, believe you me, but this is a group effort whether you like it or not." As much as she didn't want to, she found herself agreeing.

The door at the back of the room flanked by two guards was an obvious candidate for Gizmo's location. Logan, still chomping on his cigar, approached them before Samus could. "Any chance we could have a word with Gizmo?" The guards both put their hands on their gun holsters, saying nothing else. They didn't need to; the message was clear. Samus tried a different approach.

"We just need information, we have means to pay him for it too," she showed them a credit. At this, the guards looked at each other silently. One nodded and walked into the room while the other blocked their entry. After a moment, the first guard walked back out and nodded again. They opened the door for the duo.

As the two of them walked into the room, Gizmo was the first thing they noticed. He was morbidly obese, barely fitting into the space between his desk and seat. There was a cigar in his mouth, an ashtray on the desk indicating it wasn't even close to his first. As a result, smoke permeated the room, which almost drowned out the awful stench that certainly came from Gizmo himself. He gave them a sickly smile, one that lacked any sort of true emotion or humanity. "Ya want info, I hear? Ask, and maybe I can give ya what ya want."

Samus pulled out the mugshot of Izuru. "I want to know if you recognize this man, or know anyone who might." He squinted his eyes while considering the picture before guffawing, a wheezy laugh that quickly devolved into coughing.

"Maybe I do. It'll cost ya."

Samus regarded his reaction. "How much?"

"A thousand credits, no less. Then I'll tell ya what I know. Or!" Samus and Logan waited for him to continue. "Or, you take out that good for nothing Killian. He's been breathing down my neck for ages, and no one else has the stones to do it. Not even that vault dweller who came in those years ago… "He snorted and spit out some phlegm. "Anyways, seeing as you two are obviously bounty hunters I'll not only give you info on that weird looking fella, I'll pay you handsomely. Now, what'll it be, the money or the hit?"

Logan and Samus shared a look, before Samus began to reply. "We don't want to get involved too deeply here. We can just give you the money."

Gizmo growled. "Yeah, I should have made things clearer. What I want is Killian dead. I already have enough money, and if you don't agree I'll have Izo over there escort you out."

Before Samus could do anything, Logan's rushed over to the desk. His claws came out and he held them to Gizmo's throat. The sound of a gun being drawn, presumably from Izo, could be heard from behind Samus' line of sight. "We don't want part of your petty bullshit. We just want info. And if you don't give, these claws will cut straight through your windpipe like butter." Gizmo just laughed.

"Kill me or not, the second you walk away you and your friend'll be pumped full of lead. You're fucked."

"Lead, huh?" Logan feral grin caused Gizmo's wheezing laugh to cease. "Sounds fun." He sliced his claws through Gizmo's right hand as he backed off, Samus activating her Varia Suit the moment she saw the violent sight. Gizmo's screams echoed through the room as Izo opened fire with a tommy gun. The Varia Suit reflected the bullets, and they predictably did nothing to slow Logan down as he thrusted his claws through Izo's chest, lifted him off the ground and slammed him against a wall while roaring like an animal. The two guards entered the room at this moment, Samus aiming her arm cannon at them.

She hesitated for a second in a standoff before firing, the lasers thrusting the two them out of the room and into a craps table. They didn't get up. Other guards and the more loyal patrons were immediately drawn to the commotion, while many other rushed to leave. Logan closed the door and locked it from the inside, going over to a newly terrified Gizmo once more. He was sweating profusely and clutching his bleeding hand, having not even bothered to exert the effort to get up from his seat.

"So, will you give us the info now?" Gizmo nodded his head so fast all his many chins began to wobble in unison.

"Y-Yeah, sure! I've never seen the guy you showed before in my life, but there were some guys in here the other day who might be connected."

Logan tightened his grip on Gizmo's lapels. People outside began pounding on the door. "Connected how?"  
"T-They were getting drunk and rowdy, boasting on their cozy position with the Council and how they knew General Grievous personally. I barely understood what any of it meant, but apparently, they had three missions. One: find a place called the Cathedral, which we told them is south of here. Two: if they run into any Alliance groups on the way, kill them. Three: get into contact with some long-haired freak. I only know all this because they wouldn't shut up about how important all of it was."

"Did they say who they were?"

The pounding got louder.

"T-They were called the Brave Companions; their leader was named Vargo Hoat. That's all I know!"

Logan smiled appreciatively. "Thanks for the info, bub." He raised his knuckle to Gizmo's throat and released the claws within, piercing deep into the fat and skin. Gizmo could only gurgle as he gasped for breath, his own blood suffocating him. Soon enough, he was dead.

The tip of a machete burst through the wooden door. "Logan, we need to leave now!"

He didn't seem concerned, taking a final smoke of his cigar and putting it out on the ashtray before walking over to the door and opening it. They were met with the sight of at least 10 guns aiming straight at them. He let out his claws once more.

"This should be fun."

...

It wasn't long until they ran into Spike interrogating a ghoul, who appeared to not know anything. "That's enough Spike, we found a lead. We need to leave."

Spike turned to meet them, which the ghoul took as a chance to run away. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped once he saw Logan full of bullet holes and Samus in her Varia Suit, gore coating the both of them. "Really? Again? Can we go anywhere without this happening?"

Samus glared in Logan's direction, speaking through gritted teeth. "Apparently not."

He glanced at her before walking towards the town's exit. "Let's move. Now."

Spike looked to her. "Where are we going?"

"South. We found a new target, and we know where he is."

...

They walked back to the campsite, and informed Bruce of what they learned.

"Good work you three, we'll leave on the morrow. Though, I would still advise you to look for less violent means of solving your problems."

Spike shrugged nonchalantly. "It's Logan, as it always is."

Logan ignored Bruce's accusatory glare, giving one of his own to Spike. "Don't act like you don't enjoy your own theatrics, Spiegel." He walked alone towards his own ride and shelter, a beaten up old limo. Bruce eyed them, silently asking if he should do something.

"It's fine Bruce. I'm sure you have more important things to do," Spike looked unfazed by Logan's anger at him.

"I hope you're right, Spike," he went to speak with Johnny, leaving Samus and Spike alone.

"All in all, I'd say that was a very successful expedition. Wouldn't you agree, Aran?" he asked her.

She almost missed what he said, her mind elsewhere. "Oh, yeah. It was useful."

"You don't seem happy about it."

"You think I'm happy about going into a town looking for leads, and leaving having killed almost everyone inside that casino? Well, I'm not."

Spike leaned against the side of the Batmobile, lighting a cigarette. "I'm not one for getting civilians involved in hits, but none of those men seemed particularly innocent. It was effective at getting what we needed, at least."

"I guess it was. But I'm not going to act like I'm happy with it."

"I've dealt with and killed many lowlifes in my time. I don't know what your life as a bounty hunter was like, but this kinda comes with the territory," Spike smirked as he snidely explained.

Samus rolled her eyes. "It's not that I'm not used to death or killing. It's more like, everyone is acting so impulsive without regard to consequences. It worked out this time, but what if Gizmo refused to say anything? I served time as a soldier in the Galactic Federation, and this taught me discipline. And then when I became an independent bounty hunter, I learned that I quite liked using this discipline while working."

"Logan told me he's been a soldier, multiple times in multiple wars. Not counting this Multiverse War of course," Spike informed her.

"He certainly doesn't act like one," she scoffed.

"Well, I don't know why, but he doesn't seem to care much for authority. I think he just doesn't care at all anymore, in general," Spike spoke as if he knew exactly why Logan was the way he was but refused to give it all up.

"Yeah, I know how that feels. Sometimes I still do," Samus attempted to empathize. Spike was about to say something, but Samus continued. "But it doesn't change the fact that everything still feels wrong to me. Not just with Logan's demeanor, but everyone else's. Bruce's I can kind of understand, but even then, I can't fully."

"Don't like playing with others, eh? I remember a girl I knew who was like that. She came around, somewhat," Spike reminisced. Samus ignored the remarks on the girl.

"I can be a team player, I can follow orders well. In fact, I'd say Logan is less of a team player than I am. But, I guess I just want the days when I would explore isolated planets and take missions on my own to return. Everything since things changed has felt alien. I feel alien. The only time I felt somewhat normal was when we found Chiaki all alone," she admitted.

"There were times I would regret change and yearn for the past, but now I think it's easier to deal with it as it comes. I'll tell you what I told that girl I knew. Forget the past, it doesn't matter. Whatever happens, happens," Spike shrugged again, taking a drag of the cig. "And Chiaki? You said you know how she felt, didn't you? Why is that?"

"We both lost everything, at a young age too."

"Well, it makes no difference to me how you feel, Aran, as long as we can get the job done. You just need to accept that not everyone has your ideals. Think back to when you worked with others as a soldier, I guess. Because whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us," at this, Spike said his goodbye and left, stomping out the cig as he went.

She walked away, contemplating to herself. Now, she wanted to be like Bruce and sit alone and brood. That was what she decided to do as she walked over to her ship. She assumed no one would be there to bother her. That's why she was surprised to see Chiaki sitting inside, playing on her game system.

"Chiaki, what are you doing here?" The younger girl paused her game, looked up, and gave Samus a small smile.

"I wanted to discuss something with you so I decided to sit here and wait. Can we talk, please?"

"Sure..." Samus was somewhat surprised Chiaki did this of her own violation. In the week or so she knew her, Chiaki almost always only spoke when spoken to. But here she was, asking to talk. What did she want? Samus took a seat next to her and listened expectantly.

"I heard what you and Spike said about me a couple days ago….I want to thank you for trying to look out for me. But it's ok really, I don't blame Spike or you for not understanding," Chiaki stated.

"But if you heard what I said, I felt I did understand on some level." At this, Chiaki's sweet smile turned apologetic.

"You know how I played many videogames in my world, and that I met characters from some of them after the merger?" Samus nodded. "Well, you are from one of them. _Metroid_ is what it's called."

"Yeah, I already know, but I never had an interest in finding out what they're like. My own life is enough for me."

Chiaki hummed in understanding before continuing. "You see, I know a lot about you from playing those games and reading on the story….. I think."

Samus quirked an eyebrow, confident she didn't truly know. "Like what?"

"I know your parents were killed by space pirates, and the Chozo raised you. I know the Chozo, too, died off. I know you usually work alone, and your dealings with other bounty hunters didn't exactly end well. I know Ridley is your nemesis, and that you couldn't get yourself to bring the Metroid to extinction after you saw the last baby."

Any confidence Samus had was destroyed. This girl, she knew so much, _way_ too much for her own comfort. And many others probably did too. Chiaki noticed her discomfort.

"Hey hey, I don't think of you any less. In fact, you were one of my gaming heroes, and now you are one of my real-life heroes."

Samus just shook her head in disbelief. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Chiaki moved towards the heart of her reasoning, "you said you understand what it's like to lose everything. Those words stuck with me these last few days, and I thought them over. And you are right, you do understand on some level. Your backstory as I knew it was proof. But truthfully you don't fully understand, and neither do I. And if we did actually understand, we would be truly lost….. I think."

"What?"

"You're fighting for something, something beyond yourself, aren't you? Not just for personal gain, but for others?" Chiaki asked with sudden earnestness, jumping out of her seat to look Samus in the eye.

"Well, I'm fighting with Bruce and the Alliance to save Superman right now. The baby Metroid felt like something much more than me. And…" Chiaki waited for her to finish as she paused in thought. "And, the Galactic Federation. There are people I know there I'd like to keep safe. Many of them are dead but…"

"Many of the people I know are dead too. But there are some left who I want to save. And I won't rest until I do," Chiaki affirmed. "And just as I thought, you feel that way too even if you don't always realize it."

"Is that why we found you wandering by yourself?" realization dawned on Samus.

"Yes. You see, we can never understand what it is to truly lose everything if we have _something_ worth fighting or living for. Family, friends, acquaintances, even an object or ideal. If we did lose everything, we would be nothing. You aren't nothing. And you don't need to be alone."

Samus could only look at Chiaki's warm expression in shock. "I don't need to be alone, huh?"

"Mhm. Whether it be in your struggles or in your peace, no one really wants to be alone. They just think they do."

Samus didn't know what to think.

"I requested Izuru not be killed for this reason. He's one of the friends I'm fighting for. His true self thought he lost everything as well, thought he was nothing, and this brought him to where he is now. I believe the true self is in there, and I intend to save him."

Samus' empathetic and logical sides clashed. "I will try to respect your wishes Chiaki…. But Spike had a point even if I disapproved of how he got it across. Izuru is supposed to be one of the most dangerous people- no, not people, things in general- on this planet. If we hesitate, it could mean our own deaths."

"Don't worry about that. I can go alone, nobody else needs to get involved," Chiaki replied confidently.

"But then you'll die."

"He won't hurt me, I know he won't. And if he knows anything on Superman, I'll get him to tell me."

Samus sighed. "I think you're too optimistic for your own good, Chiaki."

She could only smile. "Maybe. But I think it's served me well so far."

* * *

The man walked through a valley, unconcerned about the bullets firing upon him from a nearby hill peak. A sniper, clearly, and a decent shot, but it wouldn't be enough. He saw every bullet coming a mile away, and easily sidestepped them. Another upstart bounty hunter, looking for glory but finding none. Shouldn't concern him. Did he have a destination in mind? The place where they brought him to this planet, he guessed.

Another bullet, time slows down. The trajectory is visible…Ah yes, it came from over there. He guessed he could spare the time to take out the bounty hunter. It would be just as boring as everything else, but it wouldn't take too long. More bullets whizzed past, one hitting a single strand of his long, black hair. Hm, maybe the sniper was a better shot than he thought. No matter, it would be over soon.

"W-What the fuck?!" the sniper exclaimed as the man approached his position. As the sniper rifle became useless in close range, he pulled out a pistol and continued firing on the form closing in point blank. This hit nothing, as if he could see all of them coming. Soon enough, the man was upon him. The pistol was ripped from his grasp and destroyed. Hands were grabbing and pulling him up by his shirt. The man's face looked as dispassionate as possible, red eyes looking through him.

"H-How did I miss you so many times?! I've never missed a shot before in my life!" The man didn't say a word. "Y-You know who I am?! Floyd Lawton, Deadshot, the best gunman around. If you let me go I'll kill anyone you want!"

The man studied the white mask Deadshot wore over his face before pulling it off. This revealed a bearded man, tears in the corner of his eyes. The man deigned some words addressed to the assassin. "You hit a strand of my hair, so I'll say this. I don't need you to kill anything. You bore me. That is all."

Deadshot let out a scream that was quickly silenced as his bearded face was replaced with a gory mess. Izuru Kamukura dropped the corpse, glancing back for a second, before moving forward once again, into the wastes.

* * *

 **General Grievous is a Star Wars villain, a cyborg, who appeared in the prequels. His depiction here is a mixture of the competent, quiet, and badass version in the Clone Wars 2D animated show, and his more talkative later appearances.**

 **Jack Lint is a character from the movie Brazil. He was a torturer there, too.**

 **Scott Lang is one of the people to take on the mantle of the Ant-Man, based on his movie incarnation. Like that version, Cassie is still a little girl and his ex-wife is named Maggie.**

 **Rita Vrataski is from the movie Edge of Tomorrow.**

 **Junktown, the ghouls, Gizmo, Izo, and Killian Darkwater are all elements from the Fallout games, more specifically the first game.**

 **Vargo Hoat and the Brave Companions are from the A Song of Ice and Fire book series. They aren't included in the popular Game of Thrones TV adaption, but any future elements will be a mixture of both version.**

 **Cowboy Bebop fans should know what girl Spike is referring to, and also know he's being somewhat hypocritical in his words to Samus.**

 **Deadshot is a DC Comics character, often a Batman villain.**

 **If anyone is wondering why there was nothing on Apollo's group, they'll be the focus of the next chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

"General Grievous, sir, Leader M. Bison is here to see you." A droid approached Grievous, who was staring at sleeping forms within two pods. He turned his attention to the droid.

"That Council stooge is here again? Tell him to wait, I wish to speak with Hojo for a moment."

"Roger roger," the droid walked away, almost running into the door as mad scientist Hojo opened it.

"Ah, General Grievous, what a pleasant surprise! What is it you want from me?"

"I would like an update on the research. What have you found?" Grievous asked intensely, leaving no room for failure.

"It has gone excellently, General. This Superman is one of the most powerful of his nearly extinct kind, and we now nearly know how to use his genes for our own purposes!" Hojo giggled excitedly as he spoke, rubbing his hand on the pod that encased Superman lovingly. The green glow from the kryptonite within reflected on his glasses highlighting his own sickly appearance. His pasty white skin, his stringy, long black hair, his yellow teeth.

"And what of the girl? Her psychic powers seemed potent. They could also be useful," Grievous looked at the second pod, a young girl with a shaved head encased within.

"That was even easier, her mind is damaged and simple to manipulate for our purposes. Imagine, soldiers with the powers of both, they will be unstoppable!" Hojo laughed again, but turned more serious as he continued. "But, as you well know, I can't complete this until we get the super mutant formula hidden on this planet. The previous failures will attest to this. Once we have that, we will be able to genetically engineer soldiers to our hearts' content."

Grievous looked unconcerned. "I have some men on the lookout for that, we will find it in due time. Now, about the long-haired man-"

He was interrupted by the door being slammed open. M. Bison strode into the room confidently, visibly displeased. "Grievous! What is this I am hearing about making guests wait? Do you have any respect for your superiors?"

Grievous clenched both of his fists. "I was just getting an important update on our little project, Leader Bison. I thought you could wait a moment."  
"Well, you thought wrong," he eyed the pods, "and I don't particularly care for this. If there are no results soon, you will be punished. Understood? We at the Council are not patient. I am not patient."  
"Clearly," Grievous mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes. Bison glared at him.

"The longer we waste forces and supplies on this eyesore of a planet, the worse it'll be for you and our cause as a whole," he grinned snidely. "And then we'll have to stop supporting you in what you really want."

"If you have concerns on the project, bring them up with Hojo," Hojo balked at this and sputtered out a response, but Grievous held up a hand to silence him. "I, on the other hand, will do whatever Leader Bison and the Council wishes me to do. However, the project is nearing completion and I am loath to leave it so close to the end."

Bison nodded in approval. "Good to hear, Grievous. We'll let your mad scientist continue playing with some of his toys, if you are as close to being finished as you say. If you aren't, well, you know." He peered into one of the pods. "I will be taking something with me when I leave though, to make sure our eggs aren't all in one basket."

"What?!" Hojo screeched before Grievous could get a word in edgewise.

"Hojo. Do not speak," he ordered sternly before turning towards Bison. "What are you taking?"

"This girl here. Superman can stay, but we can't have everything important to us in one place, can we? Yes, you seem to be about done with her. I will take her with me, see what I can do from his end, and then execute her. All on the way to my docked ship up north. I assume you will do the same with Superman?"

"We will. The death of Superman draws ever closer, and once it happens the Alliance will lose any hope it thought it had left. And with new super soldiers on our side, we will be unstoppable."

Bison boomed out a laugh. "I like what I'm hearing, Grievous. Who is this girl, anyway?"

"They call her 'Eleven'. Exceptional psychic abilities and immediate connections to other dimensions. Abilities our soldiers will have, of course."

Bison nodded and snapped his fingers, causing multiple of his Shadaloo subordinates to come out of nowhere. They picked up the pod and carried it out the door. Bison followed, calling out as he left. "I expect results, Grievous. Don't disappoint me."

The door slammed behind him once he left. Grievous grabbed one of the many lightsabers from the collection on his belt, turned it on and aimed it at the door. "That fool thinks he has power over me. He'll learn soon enough not to underestimate General Grievous!" He turned to Hojo.

"Don't just stand there. That other project, is it ready?"

"Yes, the new adamantium coating for you is ready. We can do it now, if you wish."

"Excellent. Once this is done, no one will be able to stop me," Grievous chuckled darkly to himself.

* * *

Apollo had so many questions he wanted to ask, he didn't know where to start. He decided he would do so when everyone was free to listen. Once they had reached a significant distance between them and the deathclaw it was nighttime, so they parked the van and set up a campfire. They had a decent supply of food and water, which Apollo and Trucy were excited to devour. As he hopped out of it, Apollo got his first good look at the van itself. Its paint had mostly chafed away and the metal rusted, leaving faint patterns of what Apollo could only assume was a once vibrant appearance. Some words could be barely seen.

"Mystery….Machine?"

"Reah!" Apollo jumped, having not heard Scooby's approach.

"Jesus, you startled me!" Apollo exclaimed. Scooby let out a soft 'rehehe' before sitting next to Apollo and staring at the van with an unreadable expression. Apollo eyed Scooby warily.

"So, Melia said you own this thing, right?"

"Reah," Scooby said again, a lot less excited this time.

"You don't sound happy about it," Apollo crossed his arms as he looked back at the Mystery Machine.

"Rot ruch to be rappy rabout," Scooby spoke with a surprisingly mournful tone.

Apollo supposed he was right. "Ain't that the truth."

Any possible further discussion was ended when Jim Hopper clapped him on the shoulder.

"Gah! Does everyone want to startle me today?!" Apollo instinctively backed away from the touch. Hopper just chuckled.

"Come on, new guy. The big girl wants to have a word with you and your sister."

"The big girl?"

When they approached her, Furiosa was facing away from them and towards the expanse of the desert, her hands, one real and one metal, on her hips as she took in the landscape. She turned once she heard footsteps.

"Trucy Wright, Apollo Justice. Thank you both for meeting with me," she spoke with formality.

Apollo waited for Hopper to leave, but he didn't. He replied anyway. "Thank you and your friends for saving our lives, Ms. Furiosa. It's not every day we receive genuine help on this planet. We don't know how we can repay you!"

Furiosa waved her metal hand dismissively. "No need for repayment. Many of the other 'friends' you see with us were found in similar situations."

Trucy's face lit up. "You guys go around saving people in trouble? You're like a superhero team!"

"Yes, I suppose you can see it that way," Furiosa chuckled, "but that isn't our main objective."

"Main objective?" Apollo furrowed his brow in thought as to what it could be.

"This meeting is to ascertain whether you two would be willing to continue with us after we tell you what we're doing here. Some leave, the others you were introduced to were the ones who did not. We won't judge either way. Hopper?"

The police officer walked from their side to Furiosa's, putting his hands on his belt as he did. "We're looking for my daughter, Jane Hopper. You may have heard of her other name: Eleven. She's a powerful psychic in the clutches of the Council," the tough guy looked like he wanted to cry, but his speech just got fierier, "As a father, I would want to find her regardless of her powers, but luckily, she's powerful enough that many are willing to help. I know it's not necessarily out of the goodness of their hearts, but fuck it I'll take it."

Furiosa continued. "We don't have Alliance backing on this, they apparently have other things to worry about," she spat, "so we're alone. Hopper followed her captors to this planet himself before losing them, then met me and helped me out himself. We've been building a small force ever since. All we want as repayment for saving your lives is an answer. Will you join us, or will you not?"

Before Apollo could get a word out, Trucy made up her mind. "Of _course_ we'll join you Miss Furiosa! Polly and I haven't done much since being stranded here, this'll be a nice change of pace." She looked at him expectantly. "Right, Apollo?"

He rubbed the top of his head and smiled bashfully. "Heh, can't say no to that, can I? Yeah, Trucy's right, we'll help out. Don't know how much we can actually do, but…."

"Excellent," Furiosa smiled in approval. "And don't worry, it's not hard to be useful to this group. You'll find that out in due time."

"It's settled then. Follow me, and we can get you guys some grub," Hopper made his way over to the fire, a stew of some sort boiling over it. Besides the parties involved in the meeting, everyone was seated around the fire eating. "Everyone, meet our newest members."

Scooby, Courage, Melia, and Vivi all clapped sincerely, while Apollo couldn't help but feel Rocket's was more sarcastic in nature. Didn't matter to him though, he now had a reliable source of food and drink.

* * *

As they ate what tasted to be a meat stew, though what kind of meat it was Apollo didn't know, the conversation was kept light. Eventually, Scooby and Courage started playing tug of war with a bone they found, Hopper went to talk to Furiosa about something Apollo assumed involved future plans, and Rocket still mostly kept to himself.

"How exactly did you stop that deathclaw, Vivi? Because that was amazing!" Trucy, as per usual, asked what Apollo was too afraid to ask himself.

For his part, Vivi was more talkative ever since he learned they would be staying. "Well, it's a spell called Fira. It's something you need to learn on my home world, but as a black mage it comes naturally to me."

"Black mage, eh? What is that, some kind of job?" Trucy queried, genuinely interested.

"No, we're a race. A magically powerful one at that."

"I too know some magic, but dare I say Vivi is much stronger than I!" Melia cheekily stated. If Vivi had visible cheeks, they would've been burning red.

"Don't sell yourself short, Melia," he mumbled, kicking at sand bashfully.

"I know magic too!" Trucy suddenly yelled.

"Really?! You should show me some time!" Vivi was excited.

"Some time? How about right now?" She stood up confidently.

"Truce-" Apollo began, knowing full well she didn't know any magic, but stopped when she made a 'shush' motion with a finger. The magician took out her admittedly incomplete deck of cards and spread them in front of Vivi.

"Pick a card."

He looked at them, confused, before hesitantly pulling one out of the deck. He looked about to say something, but Trucy cut him off.

"Ah ah ah!" she tutted, "Don't tell me what it is! Just memorize what's on it. The shape, the number, the color, all that stuff. Once you're done, hand it back to me."

Vivi gave it another look-over, before nodding and giving it back to Trucy. She inserted it back into the deck. "Now, watch this!" She expertly shuffled the deck, using every trick in the book to make it as visually over-the-top as possible. Vivi's yellow eyes widened, even Melia looked impressed at the sight. She spread out the deck once again after finishing, taking out a singular card and showing it to Vivi confidently.

"Is this your card?" It was the nine of hearts.

He gasped. "Yes, yes, it is! How did you know?!"

She tipped her top hat. "Can't tell you, magician's secret!"

Melia giggled and clapped. "Looks like she does know magic after all! I admit, I have no idea how that works either Trucy."

Trucy bowed. "Thank you, thank you, you're a wonderful audience. There'll be more where that comes from."

There was a snort. "That's an old trick. Just some sleight of hand is what it is." _Looks like Rocket has finally decided to join us,_ Apollo thought derisively.

The magician huffed, hands on hips. "What do you know, you raccoon?"

Rocket glared. "I consider that an offensive term. Cuz you're new here, I'll let that one go."

She gasped. "Sorry, Mr. Rocket…"

Rocket waved it off. "Anyways, I _know_ what I do because someone I knew tried and failed to do it many times. I know how you humans like to entertain yourselves. I bet there's a dozen people every town here who can do it, and this place is a dump."

Trucy tried to ignore his barbed attacks on her profession. "I don't think this is the best place for this conversation, Mr. Rocket!" she spoke through gritted teeth and subtly motioned towards Vivi.

"What? There needs to come a time in everyone's life when they learn Santa isn't real."

"Um, actually he is. People have met him," Vivi spoke matter-of-factly. "And I don't care if Trucy's magic is real or not. I think it's fun-" He cut himself off with a yawn.

"Yeah, the Santa comment was stupid, I admit. But that doesn't change the fact this girl is a fraud. And you do us no favors by lying and pretending everything is OK," Rocket spat.

"Rocket! That's enough!" Melia scolded. Rocket avoided eye contact by looking at the ground before growling and stomping away.

"What's his problem?" Apollo wondered. Melia sighed.

"Rocket's got….issues, to say the least. He _does_ get easier to talk to, trust me."

"Yeah, Rocket's been nice to me before. I guess he's in a bad mood," Vivi yawned once more.

"Oh, you're sleepy aren't you Vivi?" Melia asked. "I guess this is past when you usually go to bed. You want to get tucked in?"

"No thanks Melia, I'm fine," Vivi yawned again as he got to his feet and waddled his way to the Mystery Machine.

"You tuck him in?" Apollo asked once he was gone, confused once again.

Trucy rolled her eyes. "Can't you see, Apollo?"

"See what?"

"Vivi, he's just a kid," Melia confirmed. "Little more than a year old, as a matter of fact."

* * *

"Let me see if I've got this right. Black mages are manufactured, not born, and Vivi was manufactured about a year ago?" Apollo whispered to Melia, the two sleeping next to each other outside the Mystery Machine. He had told Trucy that now they were with others it would be strange to sleep so close together, which she reluctantly agreed with.

"Technically he was manufactured before the merger, but he was in a cryosleep pod for years. From his perspective, it's been about a year."

"Huh. Why was he in that pod?"

"I don't know. Mentally, he's about 9 years old. That's about the extent he's told me. He hasn't said much else on himself, I think he's ashamed," Melia uttered mournfully. "I have figured out by his reactions that they weren't created for a good purpose. I guess that's why I'm drawn to him. I know how he feels."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm from a race called the High Entia, I was their princess in fact. We are, in some ways, the opposite of black mages. We are very old, I myself am over 90 years old, and we have an advanced civilization. But in other ways, we are similar. We were created by another being for a purpose. We were nothing more than weapons, automatons for his use. The only reason I stayed myself is that I'm partially human. I don't really know if that was what Vivi was created for, but his magical prowess explains enough," she was tearing up now.

"That's rough..." Apollo was at a loss for words.

"Luckily, my people are now fine. I don't know if I can say the same for Vivi's..."

"Why are you telling me all this Melia?" Apollo was confounded by her willingness to confide in him.

"You've agreed to join our group, Apollo. There isn't much genuine connection to be found out here. As far as I'm concerned, we're part of a family now. And that involves openness. I can only hope you'll think the same someday, much as I hope Vivi does," the princess was sincere.

"….Maybe I will, Melia. Goodnight." He could feel her gaze boring into him for a bit as he closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Apollo."

* * *

He was in a courtroom. It was a familiar sight, defense bench on one side, prosecution on the other, and at either ends the witness stand and the judge's seat. He ran some fingers on the stand. Everything was dusty. Why was he here? Did he have a case today? He couldn't remember, but the gallery was being filled as he pondered. Suddenly, he was behind the defense bench, various scraps of evidence he couldn't identify laid out in front of him and a crying defendant pleading at him to save her. The judge's gavel boomed, the prosecution mocked him, his assistant was scrambling to help, but none of it was audible. Just a bunch of echoes he couldn't decipher. Two hands grabbed him, shaking him, forcing him on. When he turned to see the source, there was nothing but a blank face. However, it was a blank face he could understand.

"What are you doing, you fucking idiot? If you don't find a case-breaking contradiction right now, this defendant will be given the death penalty! _**DO SOMETHING!**_ "

Suddenly, the girl was a man, then a girl, then a man again, form changing and morphing constantly as they screamed in terror. It was Phoenix, Athena, Ema, Maya, Pearl, Klavier, Kristoph, Thalassa, Blackquill, Clay, Datz, Nahyuta, Dhurke, people he knew. People he failed. The screams wouldn't end, building to such intensity that Apollo had to close his eyes and plug his ears to keep his sanity. Suddenly, it ended. The courtroom was now a ruin, everyone was gone except one. The defendant, hanging from a noose in the center, dead, appearance still changing every second. He looked away, the sight too much to bear, but still the corpse was in his sight. No matter where he turned, he couldn't escape. Even when he closed his eyes, the morphing image was burned into his vision. Collapsing to the ground, he broke down.

"Make it stop, please! Someone make it stop!"

But no matter what he did, he couldn't wake up.

* * *

The next morning, Apollo was woken up by a lick to the face.

"W-What the hell?!" It was Courage, the pink dog taking up his entire vision. Courage let out a small 'yes!' at having successfully gotten Apollo up as he backed away. Apollo could see Scooby behind him, the other dog being scratched behind the ears by both Melia and Trucy, tongue hanging out in pleasure.

"Nice of you to join us Polly," his half-sister giggled.

"W-Why did you do that?!" he stuttered, scrambling to his feet.

"You were the only one still asleep, silly. Everyone else already ate breakfast. I guess not having me around to cuddle with at night makes you lazy, huh?" Apollo cringed at Trucy's bluntness. He ignored it, however. He had more important things to deal with.

"Trucy, can we talk alone for a sec?" It was her turn to be surprised for once.

"Of course." She shared glances with Melia and the two dogs before following Apollo away from the group. Once he decided he was far enough away to not be heard, he began.

"Trucy, I had the nightmare again. Only this time, it was worse…. A lot worse," he rubbed his forehead.

His half-sister's expression quickly turned serious. "Apollo, I know you can be embarrassed, but I will sleep with you again if it makes you feel better."

He cringed at the word choice. "Can you not say, 'I will sleep with you' ever again, please?" She rolled her eyes.

"Apollo, this is serious. I will _cuddle_ with you again, if it means the nightmares going away. I don't like seeing this happen to you, it's been so long too."

"Yeah, I thought it was over with…. I guess not," he laughed spitefully. Suddenly there was a warm presence on his side. A hug.

"Don't you worry, Polly. Just remember, the nightmares can't hurt you. And if they do, they'll have me to deal with!"

More laughter came forth as he put an arm around Trucy's form, rubbing a hand up and down her back. "…..What about you, Truce?"

"What about me?" she inquired, looking genuinely confused.

"I remember you had nightmares too. Arguably worse ones. After all, you didn't just lose friends, you lost family." She tried to look unconcerned.

"I'm fine, Polly. We've all lost something here, and I'm not about to argue who has it worse."

"I'm not trying to argue-"

"Yes, you're looking out for me. And I appreciate it. But I'm _fine._ I'm Trucy Wright and I'm fine! C'mon Polly, you need to say your old catchphrase! Say you're fine, it'll make you feel better!"

"If I did, Truce, it would be a lie." The words seemed to hit her like a truck.

"Apollo-"

"Everything alright over here?" Furiosa approached, looking concerned. "Courage was trying to explain something looked wrong with you two."

"We're OK, Ms. Furiosa. Just a little brother-sister talk," Trucy's demeanor flipped like a switch.

"Uh huh," she didn't look convinced. "Well, I'm not one to pry. Sorry if I've intruded too much. Regardless, Apollo, you need your breakfast. Come."

After Apollo had his fill, Furiosa spoke to everyone on the plans for the day.

"We now have nine members, and we have three missions for today. So, we will have three groups of three. Each will have a different task. One will be guarding the Mystery Machine and its supplies. The second will go into the Hub to gather more supplies. Gas, food, water, bullets, all that good stuff. The third will be meeting with a source I contacted, they may have important information on Eleven's whereabouts. We'll split up in an hour, but before that we need to figure out who goes where. I'll be at the meeting with my source, and Hopper has volunteered to go into town."

"I can reep ratch," Scooby took responsibility for his own van.

"I'll stay too," Vivi volunteered. "I'll probably slow things down anywhere else."

"I'll stay!" Melia and Rocket both volunteered at the same time.

"No need to coddle the kid, Melly," Rocket scoffed, "we all know full well he can handle himself." Melia looked about to reply but Vivi stopped her.

"It's fine, Melia. You don't need to watch me all the time. I'll be fine," Vivi assured her.

"Alright Vivi, whatever you say," Melia reluctantly acquiesced. "I can go with Furiosa then, if that is alright."

"I want to meet this contact, sounds like something from a spy movie!" Trucy spoke excitedly.

"Guess that means Courage and I will go with Hopper," Apollo didn't particularly care where he went, so he was fine with this. Courage, however, was visibly shaking at the idea of going into town. Everyone dispersed to get ready, but not before Trucy gave Apollo a concerned look. ' _You sure you're alright?'_ it seemed to say. Apollo just nodded, wondering if she was.

* * *

The Hub was perhaps the largest city in the wasteland, a major source of trading for every other place of significant population. As he entered it, Apollo noted that it was surprisingly bustling, full of people from all walks of life looking to make a quick buck. Any who lived in the wasteland were clearly drawn to the place. Even in this diversity, though, their group looked positively unnatural. Courage, the small pink dog that he is, was completely out of place, and Apollo's 'horns' were unlike anyone else's hairstyle. Hopper, however, fit right in, giving off an aura of total control to everyone who looked at him.

"What we need more than anything is gas," Hopper told them beforehand, "food and water have both been decently rationed and we don't necessarily need a ton of weapons with…you know. Those magicians. So be on the lookout for it. It's not easy to get in a place like this."  
The market was found easily enough, a lot of caravans lined up with bartering merchants in front of them. Perusing what most were selling, it wasn't what they really needed. Brahmin meat, as Hopper put it, dirty water, guns and ammunition, armor, but no gas. Suddenly, Hopper paused.

"You see that?" he asked, pointing to a row of bottles with rags hanging out of them. "Those are Molotov cocktails. They got gas in 'em. Maybe not a ton, but it's a start. Let's go."

"Hello there. Would you like some of my wares?" the merchant asked as they approached.

"How much for those cocktails?"

"100 caps each," the merchant smiled with faux kindness.

"Eh, would you be willing to barter for that?" Hopper wasn't the most charismatic speaker around.

"The dog!" the merchant suddenly pointed to Courage. "It's hungry out there, for a caravan merchant on the roads. I find dog meat a lot more delicious than Brahmin meat, if you catch my drift."

Courage was shaking in fear, but Hopper was stone-faced. "Sorry, but I happen to like this dog. If we can find any other means of payment, I'd be happy to oblige."

The merchant slammed his shotgun on the table in front of him, the barrel aimed directly at Hopper. "The dog or 100 caps a piece, capiche?"

The last reaction Apollo expected from that was for Courage to instinctively jump in front of the gun's barrel, but that's exactly what the supposedly cowardly dog did. Hopper didn't flinch, holding up a hand and whispering to him. "This guy obviously has a few screws loose, don't do anything idiotic," he looked at Courage, "and stand down, you stupid dog."

The pup growled at the merchant but hopped away from the barrel.

"Fine, we can pay for it," he pulled out a credit, causing the merchant's eyes to widen. "I'll take all of them. Just point that fucking thing away from me and we have a deal."

The merchant nodded quickly and took the credit greedily as Apollo started putting the cocktails into a pack.

"Gotta use another damn credit…. these things don't grow on trees you know," Hopper muttered to himself as the group walked away.

Apollo cleared his throat. "So, uh…. Is that how transactions usually go down around here?"

"Nah, there's been kind enough folks before. I don't think the big trading rackets would be happy to hear a caravan wanted to trade so much for a small dog, I wouldn't be surprised if that guy is left on his own eventually. Then he'll really be starving." Hopper explained. Apollo nodded, really wanting to ask why the hell Courage jumped in front of a loaded gun. The dog stayed close though, so that would have to wait.

As they bought some food from another caravan, Apollo thought Courage was far enough away to ask.

"Hey, Hopper?"

"What's up kid?" Hopper didn't look away from the food he was scrutinizing.

"I have to ask. Is Courage like your dog or something?"

The officer gave Apollo a look he couldn't decipher. "I guess he is, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"He seemed really eager to jump in front of that gun, is all I'm saying."

This earned a grin. "Heh. Well, let's just say he likes me and leave it at that."

A squeeze on Apollo's wrist. _The golden bracelet._ Hopper was hiding something, he knew. His power to see through lies had weakened considerably since he lost one of his eyes, at first to the point of it being gone completely, but over the years he had honed his focus enough that he could still tell. But, what was Hopper hiding? And was it even important enough to figure out? The former defense attorney thought back to Melia's statement the other night. ' _As far as I'm concerned, we're part of a family now. And that involves openness.'_ First Vivi, now Hopper. Was that even followed in this seemingly close group? Apollo sighed. He'd only been here a day and he was already getting a headache.

* * *

Furiosa, Trucy, and Melia walked towards the Hub with Hopper, Apollo, and Courage for a bit, before splitting up when the roads towards the contact and the town diverged.

"How'd you meet this guy anyway Miss Furiosa?" Trucy inquired.

"During a supply run in the Hub a few weeks back, he overheard me mentioning something about the Council when asking around about Eleven. Apparently, he knows information about that and is eager to give it away. However, this time, date, and place were strictly enforced to keep things unsuspicious, so I had to wait," she droned off info she had known for weeks, "He is…. Unique looking, just as a warning."

Melia tittered. "More unique than our little group? I'd like to see him try."

The agreed upon spot was small cave on the outskirts of the Hub. As the cave became visible in the distance, the trio could already see a huddled figure waiting outside. He was certainly unique, that was for sure. Said figure would be tall if they weren't hunched over, their back bent at an almost 90-degree angle. They wore a simple black cloak that covered their entire body, a hood over their head. All that peaked out of this dark ensemble were two ratty black-feathered wings that looked useless for flying, and two… glowing yellow eyes.

"Those look like Vivi's eyes," Trucy noted immediately. Furiosa only nodded.

"Thank you for coming, miss…. Wait, who are these people?!" the contact looked up and suddenly freaked out, wings flapping uselessly. "I thought we agreed this would be confidential!"

"It is. These two are trusted associates of mine. They will not harm you or compromise our position, I promise." Trucy was surprised at the trust Furiosa was already putting in her.

"Err, I don't like this, but if you think so…" the contact was still fidgeting but had calmed down considerably.

"If you have the information you promised me, spit it out. I don't even know your name, and if you don't start giving I'll consider this a waste of my time," Furiosa switched from reassuring to harsh quite quickly.

"Well, miss, I never told you my name in the interest of staying on the down low. My name, or rather designation, is Black Waltz 93. Strange I know, but that's what they called me for whatever reason. I can assure you I have information about the Council that will prove useful to you. This is because I've been to their base of operations. In fact, I was made there. This mark on my arm is proof." He held out his dark-skinned arm, pulling down the cloak's sleeve. On it was a brand, the simple half-circle that was the informal symbol of the Council. Their actual, though less well known, symbol was much more intricate.

"You said you were… made there?" Furiosa quirked an eyebrow.

"You see, this is the most interesting information I have to give. They are performing experiments in their base, trying to create super soldiers that'll be unstoppable. I was an early failure, an attempt to mix the powers of Materia with the magical prowess of the black mage, but I have neither-"

"Black mage?" Melia interrupted. Black Waltz 93 clearly didn't expect this, trying to continue his speech.

"Yes, yes, but they realized that it wouldn't be useful because black mages have such a short lifespan-"

"Short lifespan?!" Melia interrupted again. The black mage huffed.

"Can I say what I need to say without these interruptions?" he asked, but Furiosa held up her metal hand.

"Expand on this lifespan, please?"

He was clearly confused, but complied. "Er, well, black mages were originally created to not last long. A year long, in fact. They were meant to be useful and powerful biological weapons, weapons that would die off before they realized they had capacity for sapience. There were some anomalies who realized too early, such as me, but they too would die off eventually. This short lifespan wasn't what the Council wanted in their soldiers, constantly making them every year would cost way more than they were worth I assume. I escaped their compound so they wouldn't dispose of me, but I don't think they even noticed. Either that, or they don't care. Doesn't matter either way, I'm due to die in a few months," he explained somberly.

Melia just looked at the ground in shock, Trucy trying to comfort her, but Furiosa continued her questioning. "Do you think Eleven is in this compound, and if she is can you tell me where it is located?"

Black Waltz 93 tried his best to ignore the sad reaction from the duo, instead focusing on Furiosa's question.

"If she has the powerful psychic powers you say she does, and if you know the Council in fact has her, there is no other place she'd be. That is their main base of operations on this planet." Furiosa nodded. "As for location, it's south of Necropolis, the ghoul city, really far south. Most of it is a complex underground, aboveground it is marked by a single building. It should have a sign that reads 'Poseidon Gasoline'. Once you know what it is, you can't miss it."

"Thank you for your time, Black Waltz #93. You've been a big help, I appreciate it."  
"You're welcome… but, can I ask what has made them so upset? I doubt they care about me that much."

"They know a black mage. Your father, in fact. Would you like to meet him?"

* * *

Vivi sat on the edge of the Mystery Machine, kicking his feet in the air as he stared into the blue sky, while Rocket worked behind him on a new weapon of some sort. Scooby was right outside, sitting at full attention and not making a noise.

"You don't need to worry so much, ya mutt. If anything tries anything, Vivi and I'll blast 'em away. Right, kid?" Vivi nodded in response.

Scooby looked back at them for a second before turning to his original position. "I rope so."

"Mr. Rocket?" Vivi asked suddenly

"Yeah, what's up kid?" his ears perked up, but he otherwise didn't turn his focus away from the mechanical creation.

"Why were you being a dick to Apollo and Trucy?"

At this he had Rocket's undivided attention. "Hey, language, kid! And there is no reason, I'm just an asshole. OK?" he cringed. "I guess I should teach myself about language first, eh?"

Vivi giggled. "But you aren't always an asshole. At least, I don't think so."

Rocket sighed. "I just don't see any reason for lying out here, especially to kids. That magician girl was acting like her magical abilities were real, when it was obvious they were not. There's no time for that kind of bullshit now, we've got to focus on what's real and what we have. Get me?"

"But for Trucy, that is what she has. And it's just fun. I think you need to learn more about fun, Mr. Rocket."

"I know how to have fun! Give me some booze and I'll show you."

"That's not the kind of fun that I mean!" Vivi laughed. "I used to worry about all sorts of things, but a friend of mine taught me how to be considerate of others and have fun even in the darkest times. His name was Zidane."

"Oh really? In what ways?"

"One time, me and him peed off a cliff together!"  
"Huh. Well, I had friends who taught me that it is possible to not be a total asshole all the time. Suppose I should take that to heart more often."

"I guess we all have friends who have taught us things in the past," Vivi thought wistfully.

"Reah," Scooby entered the conversation, "I riss rhem…"  
Rocket became uncharacteristically somber. "They were all a bunch of assholes, just like me. Except Groot, he was always pretty nice."

"Raggy ras my rest riend!"

Vivi looked on them as they reminisced on the past, his new friends. When Scooby asked how a bunch of assholes could teach Rocket to _not_ be an asshole, he tuned it out. He probably won't be able to see his old ones in time. _Zidane, Garnet, Steiner, Eiko, Quina, Amarant… I'll miss you all._ He wondered how long he had left as he turned to look back at the sky, which was now a brilliant orange.

"Guys, look. The sun is setting."

* * *

His previously white metal casing was now a shiny chrome. Adamantium. The metal alloy that was more-or-less indestructible. And Grievous' body was coated in it, a delicate process to be sure, but one that was well worth it. Now, he was confident that nothing could hurt him. Well, nothing except more adamantium, he conceded. But he had a plan for that as well.

"General Grievous, sir! The hired help has arrived," a droid announced.

"Excellent. Let them in," he replied, still looking on his new metallic body in awe. He stopped as soon as the three men he hired walked in to meet him. "Welcome to our humble base of operations, my friends."

"Yeah, you seem very humble," the first assassin chuckled to himself. Grievous didn't care about this, if he did his job well.

"Ah, Slade Wilson, Deathstroke. How happy I am you have deigned to join us. Your abilities will be a big help."

"Sure. Payment is in order, correct?"

"Half now, and half after. As we agreed," he turned to the second, a man who looked like he wouldn't say anything unless spoken to. "The Phantom, I've heard great things about your abilities in disguise and transformation."

"Yes, sir. I can be anybody you want me to be," he confidently stated, his current appearance being a generic man Grievous had never seen before.

"Do whatever you think is best in the moment, I don't care how you do it." The Phantom nodded, and Grievous moved on to the third and last assassin. "IG-88, the assassin droid, I have heard good things. We come from the same universe, you and me. You will serve me well, I know it."

The droid didn't make a noise, but Grievous knew he understood.

"The mission is to find the Alliance groups Mr. Lang has kindly informed us about, and take them out. As I said, how you do it doesn't matter to me, as long as you get it done," the three didn't move a muscle as he gave his orders. "One more thing."

A droid handed Grievous a metal case, which he opened. Inside were three chrome bullets. "We know the Wolverine is among these groups. These adamantium bullets will be the only thing that can kill him. A quick shot to the head would be the most efficient way. Use them wisely, and a major pest will be exterminated."

The three each took a bullet for themselves, inspecting them in their hands.

"So, I assume you three will take the job?"

They all nodded.

* * *

 **Eleven/Jane is from Stranger Things.**

 **Hojo is a villain from Final Fantasy 7.**

 **Adamantium is a fictional metal from the Marvel Universe. It is indestructible, and Logan/Wolverine's bones and claws are coated in it.**

 **M. Bison is a Street Fighter villain, Shadaloo is the organization he is the leader of.**

 **Melia's race of the High Entia and their purpose is part of the plot of Xenoblade Chronicles.**

 **The people Apollo sees in his dream are all Ace Attorney characters. Don't worry if you don't know all or any of them, the gist is Apollo feels regret over something. His catchphrase is 'I'm fine!", and his ability to see lies is also from the games, though as established in them covering/losing an eye weakens it quite a bit.**

 **I don't know if using the gas in Molotov cocktails in a vehicle would even work in real life, but I figured since this premise is inherently unrealistic I could play with reality a bit.**

 **Black Waltzes are characters from Final Fantasy 9, basically more powerful black mages, of which there were 3. The one here is a new character, his number implying that many more were made. His mention of Materia is a reference to FF7.**

 **Rocket references some of his fellow Guardians, such as Groot. Vivi thinks of the other main characters from FF9. Scooby mentions Shaggy, his best friend.**

 **Deathstroke is a DC Comics character, the Phantom is an Ace Attorney character, and IG-88 is a minor Star Wars characters. All of them are assassins or bounty hunters.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Cathedral, once they knew where it was, wasn't hard to find. The structure stood out in the featureless desert, partially because it was mostly intact despite years of wear and tear. Its imposing design reached into the sky, the stonework and stained glass windows completing the look. As he approached the structure, Bruce Wayne realized that this place had quite a bit of history behind it. There were discarded purple cloaks along the outside, some of which were still on the decaying corpses of their once living owners. The door was open, indicating that someone else had already arrived.

"Hoat and his friends are already here," Bruce indicated to his party members. _Big Shot_ was very descriptive of the group called the Brave Companions, a variety of sadistic vagrants who moved across the universe committing atrocities on contract. The bounty for all 15 of them was a fairly large 500,000 credits, a bounty Samus and Spike were eager to earn. The Alliance themselves have wanted to put the group to justice for years, and they ordered the immediate execution of the group once Bruce reported their location to them.

"We're ready for them. I know I am, at least," Logan approached Bruce from behind. Both were in their armored costumes once again.

"Same here," Spike loaded one of his many guns as Samus' Varia Suit formed around her.

"You know I am, baby," Johnny clapped Samus on the back grinning, earning a glare for his trouble.

"How about you, Chiaki?" Bruce asked, turning towards her. "You said you could protect our supplies. Do you still think you're up for it?"

"For sure, Mr. Wayne," she replied, holding a pistol. Her grip on it was limp, and Bruce wondered if she could even take the recoil. "I've played many first-person shooters in my time. I know I can do my part."

"We'll trust you with this," Bruce nodded as he and Logan went to join the rest of the group.

"Do you really trust the girl with all our stuff?" Logan asked, perplexed. Bruce was never one to be completely trusting of anyone, let alone a girl he met not too long ago.

"I have some contingency plans for any situation, you know this. But Chiaki seems trustworthy enough from the times I've talked to her. I'm more worried about her being killed than her pulling anything," Bruce explained as Spike, Samus, and Johnny joined up with them.

"And those plans are…?" Johnny was curious.

"You think I would tell you? Sorry, but I must make sure things will go right. Not just for me, but for the multiverse," the former vigilante was blunt in his untrustworthiness, a bluntness that caused Johnny to give a disapproving look.

"Ya really don't trust us, Batsy? I've known ya for years now, I'd like to think ya could tell me at least!"

"If you really knew him, you'd know Bruce never lays all his cards on the table. It's just his thing," Logan shrugged, unconcerned.

The Batman ignored the conversation, opting to focus on the mission at hand. "Enough. It's time to confront these so-called 'Brave Companions'."

The inside of the Cathedral was just as grandiose as the outside, the sun shining through the stained-glass windows and casting the colors on the floor. The bright colors, the red and green and blue, contrasted with a destitute open room that was littered with battered purple robes, fallen red banners, and rotting corpses. Pews faced away from the entrance towards a podium on the other end, large broken screens behind it.

"These corpses are old," Bruce explained as he activated the detective vision inside his cowl, "there doesn't appear to be any signs of the Companions. Except…."

There were small drops of fresh blood, barely perceptible to the naked eye, leading from the podium to a side room. As he opened the door, the trail continued until it ended at a bookshelf. Pushing it aside revealed stairs leading into some sort of basement. Logan sniffed.

"The smell of blood is much stronger down there. We should be prepared," the Wolverine explained.

"Here," Spike handed Logan a revolver, "I see you don't have a weapon. It's for protection."

"Very funny, Spiegel," Logan rolled his eyes but put the gun in his pocket.

"And how about you, big guy?" he held another out for Bruce.

"I don't use guns and you know it, Spike," Bruce grumbled.

"Whatever you say," Spike shrugged.

"Now, quiet!" Samus, Johnny, Logan, and Spike all nodded as Bruce gave his instructions. He made his way down first, the stealthiest of them all. The basement was dark to the point of being barely visible, but it was already a clear, stark contrast to the entrance. Instead of stone, the ground was a rusty metal and the room felt more like a laboratory than a place of worship. The corpses were also much fresher. They were the first thing Bruce noticed as he turned on detective vision once more, the wounds and pools of blood indicating they were killed very recently. One even had their face torn off. Within the past hour, in fact. Spike slinked down the stairs quickly after him, and took in the sight.

"These…. look like the Companions, based on file we received. That one without a face is Biter, that one is Rorge, and that one is Utt," he noted, Bruce nodding in response. Samus and Johnny entered right after Spike, Logan stomping down last.

"The question is, was it a disagreement, or did someone get here before us?" Bruce inquired to no one in particular.

"Only one way to find out," Logan spoke nonchalantly as he bared his claws and started walking into the darkness. "You guys coming?"

Samus sighed, but made no complaint. "I'm right behind you, Logan."

They all followed, finding no living sign of the Brave Companions. Every member they came across was already dead, from a slit throat, a stabbed gut, one was even decapitated. As the corpses became more and more violent and frequent, so too did the smell become worse. Bruce and Samus were stone-faced, Logan and Spike cringed and said nothing, but the pungent scent was too much for Johnny.

"Woah momma, I think I'm gonna barf!" He did.

"Jesus, Johnny. Plug your nose or hold it in until we aren't in danger!" Spike whispered, voice turned stuffy as he plugged his own nose.

Bruce held up a hand. "Stop and listen."

They did, hearing 2 voices speaking from the end of the hallway. Batman crouched down, quietly making his way towards the voices. The source of both the smell and the voices were soon made clear, as the large room at the rear of the hall was a sensory overload. Their eyes and noses were immediately focused on what appeared to be a mound of rotting flesh sitting in the center of the room. It was mixed with some sort of tech, and tendrils snaked from the mass to all over the room. As much as the decaying flesh begged explanation, Bruce focused on 2 shadowy figures who were speaking in front of it, one looming over another that was laying on the ground.

"What are you doing here and who do you work for?" the looming shadow asked. Bruce identified it to his confusion as the seemingly dead Biter.

"W-who the hell are you!?" the other exclaimed. This one was Vargo Hoat.

"I'll tell you once you tell me what I want to know."  
"Th-Thine! General Grievouth told uth there wath thome green thit here that he needth for hith planth. That ith all he told uth. Promithe!" There was Hoat's distinctive lisp.

"OK. Now my end of the deal." The looming Biter reached for his face, ripping off the skin. Under was a very different looking shadow, one that had the voice of a younger girl. "My name is Arya Stark. Do you remember me? You might not, doesn't matter. All that matters is that I get to kill you."

Hoat screamed as she thrusted a thin sword into his throat. Soon, there was silence, the breathing of Bruce and his cohorts being the only sound left. This was enough to the alert the girl, who jerked her head and sword in their direction.

"Who is there?! Show yourself!"

Bruce gave the group a look, before slowly walking into the room. "Don't worry. We're not with the Companions."

"In fact, we should thank you for dealing with them before we had to," Logan grinned.

"Guess we're not getting any bounty on this one…" Spike pouted.

"T-This smell is too much, oh baby…" Johnny looked like he was about to puke again.

The girl, apparently named Arya, eyed the group wearily, saying nothing as they bantered between each other. As Bruce got a better look at her, he could see that she had short hair that curtained a dirty, pale face. Large, brown eyes dominated it, but showed no signs of emotion. The dirty rags that passed as her clothes were caked in blood and gore.

"You said your name is Arya Stark, correct?"

"That is my name. Who are you?"

Bruce introduced the group members to Arya, who continued to keep her distance. She didn't seem to recognize any of them.

"Yeah, if you could tell us what that gigantic pile of rotting flesh is that'd be great," Spike quipped. The girl looked at said mound as if it was her first-time laying eyes on it. She blinked.

"I…. have no idea. Now, if you'll excuse me," she sheathed the sword and tried to leave the room. Johnny blocked her.

"Hold on, little missy. We have lots of questions to ask you about what's going on here. Now, I promise we aren't gonna hurt ya-" Before Johnny could finish his promise, Arya had already drawn her sword and pointed it directly on one of his neck arteries. Everyone but Bruce drew their own weapons as a result.

"I have no business with you. Allow me on my way and I won't kill you, I won't bother you ever again. Get in my way and you'll face the consequences," she raged through gritted teeth.

"C-Calm down, we just want to ask ya some questions, that's all," Johnny panicked  
She glared. "Sorry if I don't trust you. Move."

Samus looked around. Logan and Spike already seemed ready to escalate the confrontation, and Bruce was as unreadable as ever. She spoke up.

"Arya, you want to know how you can trust us? Look here," she took out a tablet and pulled up a photo. It was a profile on the Brave Companions, and the order to bring them to justice. "We're telling the truth when it comes to not being your enemy. The Brave Companions were our enemies, you just took care of them before we got here. You might not know who we are, but we are on the same side."

Arya glanced at the screen, her resolve shaking a bit.

"Y-yeah, we're part of the fight against Grievous' forces on this planet," Johnny affirmed. "We're with the Alliance. You've got nothing to worry about."

"You're with the Alliance?" she lowered the sword. "You should've just said so. My brother Jon is too!"

"Jon?" Bruce asked. "Stark? Of course. You mean Jon Snow, right? I've met him. A nice man, honorable too."  
The previously angry young girl was suddenly beaming. "That's him! I miss him so much, I've been on my own for a while. Guess that's why I don't know you guys. Anyways, I guess I'll tell you what I can. After we get out of here." She looked at the flesh as she said that last part. And so, they left, leaving behind Vargo Hoat's corpse, face frozen in terror.

* * *

Having left the Cathedral, the group walked back to their camp. When Arya approached, the Batmobile's turret guns suddenly came to life and aimed at her.

"Computer! Stand down!" Bruce yelled, and it did immediately.

"Guess that's one of your contingency plans, eh?" Spike lit a cig. Bruce didn't respond.

To her credit, Arya was only a little startled. "I guess you guys don't usually welcome guests, huh? I can respect that." The stunt seemed to make her even more accepting of the team.

Hearing the ruckus, Chiaki woke up from a nap inside Logan's limo.

"I thought you were up for protecting our supplies?" Bruce chided her as she unsteadily got to her feet outside the elongated vehicle.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Sorry. I just get really sleepy sometimes… I'll do better next time, I promise!" Groggily looking around, her eyes laid on Arya. "Who is that, Mr. Wayne?"

"That is Arya Stark. She got to Hoat before we could. We don't know much about her, but we will soon enough."

Arya walked over to Chiaki as if she owned the place, taking her in as she did. "You fell asleep on something so important? Why would you do that?"

Chiaki looked at the ground. "I really am sorry…. I've just been falling asleep so much recently." Her downcast look quickly turned brighter as she smiled at Arya. "Anyway, my name's Chiaki. Yours is Arya, right? It's nice to meet you… I think."

"You think?" she was perplexed.

"Oh, sorry…. I just say that sometimes…"

Arya rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She turned away from the other girl. "You guys just want to know what I know, right? When do we start?"

Samus spoke up. "We can do it in my ship. Follow me."

* * *

Everyone was crammed into the ship, but it was spacious enough to allow room for each person.

Bruce opened the questioning, placing a recorder in front of Arya. "What we should first know is who you are and what you are doing here."

Arya began her exposition. "My name is Arya of House Stark. I came to this planet cuz I wanted to kill everyone in the Companions, no other reason. At first it was just Rorge and Biter I needed, but I thought 'If the whole gang's here might as well get 'em all', so I did."

Johnny interrupted. "Hold on, hold on. Why did you want to kill them?"

"They were on my list."

"List?"

"List of people I want to kill."

"What?"

"It's a long story."

"Ok. And why is a girl as young as you so good at killing in the first place?"  
"Faceless assassins. Another long story."

"Sure. And how were you imitating Biter so well?"

"Again, assassins."

Samus cleared her throat before Johnny could ask anything else. "More important for now, how did you find these guys?"

"I followed them. Might've been doing so for a good few months. Cuz they were constantly moving I had a hard time getting to the bastards, but luckily the Cathedral was a good place to corner 'em."

"Arya," Samus continued, "if you've been following them for months, you must know where their superiors are. General Grievous ring a bell?"

The assassin's face lit up. "Oh yeah, I know where that is! It's down south. And sure, Hoat said something about Grievous, his horrendous lisp kinda muffled it but Grievous sent them there to find some 'green shit'. Apparently, it was important for his plans, whatever those are. I saw the 'green shit' and snatched it."

"Do you know what it is?" Samus inquired.

"Nope. I think we should destroy it anyway. I took it before I killed Hoat," at that she reached into a pocket and pulled out a few green vials.

"Just wait until we're done with the questioning," Bruce shook his head. "Do you know anything else?"

"Look, I just wanted to kill those guys and fuck up their evil plan. I only asked who they worked for so I could decide if I should go after them next. Maybe I will, maybe I won't, but I didn't ask about the specifics."

"Well, if you think you can 'go after' General Grievous in his own base by yourself, you are sorely mistaken," the Batman spoke sternly, "Not only does he control much more than just the Companions, he is a formidable opponent in his own right. You won't be able to kill him with your little sword there, almost his entire body is robotic parts."

She looked around in disbelief. "I thought you guys were with the Alliance? I didn't know the Alliance was so craven! I guess I was wrong about you."

"Not craven, kid." Logan growled. "Smart. Infiltrating that base alone is tantamount to suicide. I almost say we should just let you go and see what happens-" Arya nodded her head rapidly, "-but I'm not that heartless."

"Why can't you just let me go?! You said you would!"

"You think we'd let Jon Snow's sister die on our watch? Not a chance," Bruce smirked. "No need to worry, though. It seems we have a common target, we can fight it together. You can join our little group."

Arya's expression was unreadable, but she didn't protest.

"Anyway," Johnny interrupted. "About that faceless assassin business…"

Arya regaled them with tales of her time in her home world of Westeros, tales of learning to kill, tales of learning to wear other faces, tales of lists and revenge, tales of facing untold amounts of threatening figures and trials. It was a long and intense story, and by the time she was done spinning the yarn the horizon had turned to the deep orange of dusk. As the sun set, the girl, one who the others questioned if she was even still a girl deep down, took out the vials of green liquid and smashed them onto a rock. The viscous substance bubbled and steamed as it evaporated, eroding the rock away to nothingness.

"Whatever that is, it doesn't look good," Logan crossed his arms.

"You think there's more?" Arya continued to look at the melting rock.

"Probably."

"Any clue where it could be?"

"Nope."

Soon, the rock was gone.

* * *

Eventually, everyone was asleep. Well, everyone except Chiaki at least. Tossing and turning inside her sleeping bag in Samus' ship, the usually sleepy girl couldn't stop thinking. _Why did I nap at such an important time? Does no one trust me? Am I even capable of being useful to them?_ She shook her head. _No, I will be useful. I'll stop Izuru and then he'll help us. We'll save Superman and Mr. Lang and then we'll start searching for more of our friends._

"Chiaki, is that you squirming around over there?" It was Samus. Chiaki sighed, she should've been quieter. It was Samus' ship after all.

"Yeah…sorry. Can't sleep."

"You can't sleep? Are you sure you're Chiaki?" the bounty hunter tried a joke, poorly.

"I just feel bad…. About the nap earlier…" her eyes were downcast.  
"Well, why did you nap in the first place?"

"I don't know. I was sitting in Logan's limo… and my eyes kept feeling heavy. I made sure not to bring my game system, and I tried to stay awake. But I couldn't."

"Well, we all make mistakes. Nobody is perfect, Chiaki. What matters is that we learn from it. Now if you take similar responsibility, you won't fall asleep again, will you?"

"I'd like to say no…" Chiaki perked up a little.

"See? Nobody is mad, anyway. Bruce dropped it pretty quick."

"Arya is. She kept giving me looks."

"You heard her story earlier. It's just how she is, don't worry too much about it."

"…I'm going outside for some air," the girl stood up.

Samus looked unsure if she wanted to say something else. "Before you go…" she paused. "I'd just like to thank you for your encouragement yesterday. It helped. You helped. You aren't useless."

Chiaki turned back with a warm smile. "It was my pleasure, Samus." With that, she left the ship. The night meant the desert was chilly, the outline of the Cathedral looming ominously in the darkness. It was a foreboding sight, leading Chiaki to wonder just why she came out here. Taking in a breath, the cold air filled her lungs with a large gulp. She puffed her cheeks holding it in for as long as possible, before blowing out when the strain became too much. Again, she breathed and held it in. Again, and again the process repeated.

"Just what are you doing?" It was Arya to Chiaki's lack of surprise, cleaning her toothpick of a sword with a cloth. It was named 'Needle' if Chiaki remembered correctly, a gift from her brother Jon.

"I don't really know…" she knitted her eyebrows in thought. "Thinking of ways to entertain myself to keep from sleeping, I guess. Besides my games, that is."

"Falling asleep on watch is the worst possible thing you can do besides straight up betrayal," Arya explained matter-of-factly. "People die and supplies are destroyed."

"Do you go on watch often?"

"I did, in Westeros, out of necessity. I'm usually by myself now. Not anymore, I guess. In a way, I'm doing it right now. Way better than you did."

Chikai huffed, her cheeks puffed in indignation. "You don't need to keep rubbing it in…"

"Yeah, I guess not…. I think," Arya giggled to herself.

The other girl looked about to say something in anger, but stopped herself. She opted for another method. "Do you like video games?"

"Huh? No. I don't have time for novelties. Must be focused and on target always or you'll be vulnerable. That's what I was taught, and it's true."

"But what's the point if you have nothing but that focus? I feel like we should have some fun in our lives," the gamer tried to wrap her head around it.  
"I remember as a kid in my home town of Winterfell, I loved the feasts and the celebrations. The typical fun stuff. But what I loved even more was notching an arrow in the bullseye, wearing armor many sizes too big for me, riding horses, winning a sparring session, playing swords with sticks. That's my fun."

"So, you get joy out of fighting others?"

"If it's a spar, it's great fun. If they have wronged me, like the Companions have, then I love it even more. I enjoyed stabbing their guts out."

Chiaki was perturbed by this, but it gave her an idea. "I've got games where you stab people's guts out. It's fun, and a lot safer than the real thing."

"But do I have any reason for doing it?"

"Well, the protagonist's family was kidnapped and he goes on a rampage to save them. It's a simple story, but the gameplay is fun and the violence comes across really well despite the limited hardware of the portable system it's on-"

"Fine! You can show me the game. If I'm gonna be traveling with you, might as well try to stand you a little."

As Chiaki expected, Arya enjoyed it not long after the controls were explained. She played until the wee hours of the morning, Chiaki by her side. As the sun appeared over the horizon, they yawned in unison. Arya snorted a quick laugh. "Wow, I guess you have a point about video games at least… Hold on."

"What?"

"Neither of us were paying attention. What if somebody or something came? Why don't you care about your own survival, or at least the survival of your friends?! I-" Arya was cut off when she looked at Chiaki, a tired yet serene expression on her face.

"Don't worry… was watching the whole time. But you enjoyed yourself…right?"

"Y-yeah, I did. Thanks."

"Good. I think there's more to fun than killing though… I'll find you more, less violent games. In the meantime... can I have my system back?"

"Oh yes, of course." She turned the game off, and put the system into Chiaki's grasp.

"Thank you, Arya. I'll see you later!" With that, Chiaki went back into the ship, leaving Arya to sit by herself.

"I'll see you later, Chiaki."

* * *

Samus woke up to find Chiaki passed out on her sleeping bag, game system in her hand, and Arya outside seemingly contemplating something. She didn't want to bother either of them, looking around until her eyes laid on the limo. She instead decided to bother Logan. Walking over to the limo, he was asleep in the front seat, snoring. She knocked on the window. No response. She knocked harder, causing him to sputter out of his dreams. He rolled down the window.

"What the hell do you want, Samus?" The early morning sun glared in his eyes, which were squinting in her direction.

"Can we talk? I feel like we have things to discuss, and barely anyone is up to hear us."

"And that would be…?"

"Junktown. Gizmo. That whole business."

"As far as I'm concerned, that's all in the past," he shrugged noncommittally.

"How can it be all in the past when you've been acting strange around me ever since?"

" _You've_ been acting strange around _me."  
_ "Exactly. We obviously have something unsaid going on here, and I'd like to fix it."

"Fine." Logan exited the limo, leaning on it and crossing his arms. "You have my undivided attention." The sarcastic undertones were not lost on her.

"I'd first like to say, I get it. You and I are different. We don't need to get along. But I still think your violence puts us in danger. Those mutants a few days ago, all those casino thugs, it's like you cause or at least escalate every conflict we come across."

"And save your asses from those conflicts, don't forget," he interrupted spitefully.

"The only reason you aren't in danger is because you've been blessed with a healing factor, but we don't have that same luxury. Why don't you think of others for a second?"

"Blessed? You think I feel blessed with this shit?! Well, you're wrong. How do you think it feels, living hundreds of years longer than anyone else with the only consolation being that I can take what many others can't? It still hurts, ya know? When I'm shot and stabbed and all that. It doesn't kill me, but it sure as hell hurts. And I don't have the luxury of death to take that pain away. It just… stays." For a split second, the Wolverine looked vulnerable. Samus, however, continued in her anger.

"Then why won't you stop rushing into situations where you get hurt?!"

"Because it's all I'm good at!" Logan suddenly exploded. Arya looked up, sitting not too far away, but said nothing. He didn't seem to care. "Yeah, superheroics ain't exactly up my alley I've learned. It's a lot easier to kill things that need killing when you're somebody like me."

Samus didn't say anything for a bit. "…. I understand how you feel."

"What're you on about?" he asked dismissively.

"Well, I don't understand being alive for hundreds of years. But you might forget, I'm no slouch when it comes to killing either. For years, bounty hunting is all I did. I destroyed entire species of creatures, and ended a lot of lives. Didn't meet many friends in that time. And when I did, it didn't end well." Her voice had softened considerably. "I'd say at the end of the day, when it comes to the differences between both of us, it just comes down to methods of coping."

For the first time, Logan looked at her almost respectfully. "No shit, eh? Do you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy what?"

"Killing. You must be used to it, at least."

"I am. Don't much enjoy it though. Purely a business for me."

"As much as I like to act like I do, I don't exactly enjoy it much either. Kinda makes me feel tired afterwards. Like the wind was knocked out of me," Logan looked more contemplative in that moment to Samus than he ever had before.

"I know how that feels too," the bounty hunter empathized.

"Why are you doing this?" Logan suddenly blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"You just coming up and talking to me. I don't get it. Not many others do that."

"Well, I figured that if we're going to continue working together, we might as well try to stand one another. Or at least be comfortable with a mutual dislike, I guess?"

Logan appeared to be in thought of what to say. "…I imagine you've got a lot of stories."

Samus smirked. "I've got plenty."

"Yeah, so do I. Fighting in hundreds of years' worth of wars will do that. Why don't we swap some soon? Could be fun," he asked this casually, as if the idea wasn't completely alien to him mere minutes ago.

"Sure," she suddenly started holding in laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"I just…. I guess the unspoken thing between us was a lot more positive than we thought!"

Logan joined in the laughing. "I'm not looking to fuck you, if that's what you mean."

Giggles transformed into full blown guffaws as the two shared a laugh for the first time.

* * *

To say Spike was confused at what was going on was an understatement. There was Samus and Logan, who just yesterday could barely stand each other, now chatting like buddies as if they were doing it for years. And for added bewilderment, there was the new girl, Arya, staring wide-eyed at a game system as if it was the first time she'd encountered technology in her life, Chiaki whispering something to her as she played.

"What the hell happened last night?" he muttered to himself, standing on a nearby hill.

"A shift in group dynamics?" Johnny offered an explanation, walking up to meet him.

"Dynamics? I didn't realize you knew the meaning of the word, Bravo," Spike smirked as he reached for a cig in his pocket.

"Heh. Well, I'm proud of them. Still, that hot momma will be mine someday, mark my words," Johnny smirked in return.

"Whatever you say, man. I just think it's weird to look at," the bounty hunter sparked his lighter, the cigarette lighting up.

"The only thing that would make it weirder is if Batsy walked out with his Batsuit freshly painted pink," Johnny agreed.

"I like the mental image. Thanks for that," he expelled smoke with every word, cigarette hanging on the edge of his lips.

"How many of those do you smoke a day?"

"Depends on my mood. You gonna get all preachy with me?"

"Nah, just figured we should shift our own dynamic ya know? The best way to do that is discuss what ya love most!"

"Ha ha, very funny Bravo. I'm just gonna separate myself from this conversation and see what everyone else is up to before we leave," at that, Spike was gone.

"And to think I was gonna ask he do the monkey with me…" Johnny feigned sadness. The lecher was about to follow when a hand suddenly covered his mouth. Then, there was darkness.

* * *

He enjoyed putting the blade of a lightsaber on his arm. Before, it would have sliced through the metal cleanly like butter, but now, when he puts it away and the sparks and smoke disperse, there is not even a scratch. _Adamantium is truly_ _amazing,_ he thought in awe, sitting on a throne. A generic drone entered into the room followed soon by a frazzled Hojo, neither fazed by the apparent attempts of self-harm.

"Sir, the Companions are dead. Their vitals have gone out." The droid droned.

Grievous wasn't fazed. "Heh, those idiots are finally gone? Not a moment too soon, I say." He put another saber to his arm.

"What are you talking about?! You sent them looking for the supermutant formula, _you_ put such an important factor of my research in their hands!" Hojo was screeching, so high pitched Grievous flinched.

"Calm yourself. I did not expect them to get the formula. They were just a distraction, a noise bomb."  
"Then is anyone looking for it?!"

"Yes. I sent some men to the Mariposa Military Base. Mumkhar and some droids, to be exact. The base is destroyed, sure, but there is some formula still in there, I know it. They should be back soon enough. The Companions will ensure no one goes after them," Grievous pacified Hojo.

"…. The Companions were useless then? Just a minor distraction?"

This brought a deep, booming laugh. "If they are dead, some forces must have gone after them. If those fools managed to get even a single Alliance affiliate killed they will be useful. And if not…. Well, I told the assassins the Cathedral would be good place to start looking. And that'll be true, if the Companions went where I told them."

"That Cathedral?" Hojo knew exactly what it was.

"The Master's old home, yes. I hope the last thing Hoat saw was that fool's mass of rotting flesh."

Hojo laughed. "The Master was a dunce. He wanted those mutant abominations to be the future of humanity, rather than weapons for his use. They are strong, only occasionally smart, and can't even reproduce. What kind of evolution of humanity is that? They aren't efficient for such a purpose. But with that we can create a race of soldiers that'll be under our complete control. They won't ever reproduce, they won't ever question, they'll just do our bidding. How perfect will that be? How perfect?"

Grievous rolled his eyes at the insane diatribe. "Very perfect." He stood up from the throne. "Now, get some rest. Once the formula gets here, you'll need it." At that, he walked out of the room with the droid, leaving Hojo alone. The mad scientist giggled to himself.

"Oh, I'll need it alright."


End file.
